For Team Madshus, the theme of the 2022-23 World Cup season was a year of firsts and rising stars.
Check out the statistics:
26 individual World Cup podiums, 8 international championship medals, one overall World Cup title. Numerous national championship medals and awards.
Biathlon: 5 World Championship medals including a gold, 3 European Championship medals, and 19 individual World Cup podiums. One second place in the overall IBU World Cup, and a third place in the overall IBU-Cup.
Cross-Country: Two World Championship medals, nine World Cup podiums. One overall World Cup title and a second place in the FIS U23 World Cup, as well as the overall title in the prestigious FIS Scandinavian Cup.
Ski Classics: Two podiums, including a first place by 16-year-old turbo junior Alvar Myhlback (SWE)
Para Cross-Country: 4 Para World Championship medals including 2 individual gold and 1 silver, more than half a dozen World Cup podiums, and the overall Para World Championships title.
The season of the young and the brave
Ben Ogden (USA) and Edvin Anger (SWE) share the same attitude about racing: Always bold, never holding back. They are rewarded with first and second place, respectively, in the overall U23 World Cup.
The 20-year-old Swede entered the senior elite level with a bang, taking home two World Cup podiums including one victory as well as five top-5 finishes, and a fifth place from his very first FIS World Championships.
Related coverage: Who is Edvin Anger?
Fun Fact
Edvin Anger is literally a walk-on in the Swedish World Cup team. After winning the sprint and helping his team to gold in the 2022 National Championships, Anger was named to the Swedish development team for the 2022/23 season. But at the national season openers in November, he was named to the travel team for the World Cup opener in Finland two weeks later. Since then, Anger has been part of the World Cup team.
Ben Ogden also made a huge leap in performance this season, his third at the World Cup level.
The 22-year-old from Vermont was sixth in the 10-kilometer classic event in Oberstdorf (GER), one of the best results for a US male skier in decades. In addition, he has made it to the semifinal in the sprint several times. Ben's accomplishments during the World Cup season also earned him the FIS U23 Rookie of the year award!
Related coverage: Watch out for Ben Ogden
22-year-old Vilde Nilsen (NOR) won just about every race she entered this season. At the 2023 Para World Championships in Östersund (SWE), she took home four medals: one from each race, including 2 individual gold and 1 silver. Throughout the season, she bagged more than half a dozen World Cup podiums, mostly victories, and won the overall 2022/23 World Cup. Nilsen also received the royal trophy (Kongepokal) for her outstanding performances. This marks the first time in history that the royal trophy has been awarded to a para athlete.
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Photo by: Nordic Focus
At 24, Harald Østberg Amundsen (NOR) is still young but well established at the World Cup level. With a rough start to the season coming down with Covid-19 a week prior to the season opener in November and thus missing the whole first period of the World Cup, Amundsen had to earn his ticket to the World Championships the long and hard way.
First, he won the key races at the Scandinavian Cup and the National championships in January, which got him onto the World Cup team for the final World Championships qualifiers. There, he won the 10km event in Les Rousses (FRA) and bagged his very first World Cup victory. Then, he anchored Norway to third place in the relay in Toblach (ITA) the next weekend.
At the World Championships, Amundsen took home the silver medal in the 15km skate race, one position up from the bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships.
Related coverage:"At the 2025 World Championships, I will take gold”
Immediately after his medal ceremony in Planica (SLO), Amundsen moved on to bag three podiums in Latvia, and winning the overall Scandinavian Cup (COC).
That COC overall victory grants Amundsen the right to race all World Cup events for the rest of the current season and the entire first period of the 2023/24 World Cup.
Amundsen has raced every World Cup after the World Championships, finished top 10 in all but one of them, and was third twice: in the 10km classic in Falun (SWE) and in the team sprint in Lahti (FIN). Just because podiums are so much fun.
Also, at the 2023 FIS World Championships in Planica, Renaud Jay went straight for the podium helping France to the bronze in the team sprint and earning his very first World Championship medal.
Only weeks earlier, Jay bagged his first World Cup victory helping France to first place in the same event at the World Cup in Livigno (ITA).
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Photo by: Nordic Focus
Speaking of World Championships, it will be hard to forget Sturla Holm Lægreid’s medal raid at the 2023 IBU World Championships in Oberhof (GER): the 25-year-old Norwegian biathlete took home five medals in six races and fourth in the last event.
Lægreid was also second overall in the 2023 IBU World Cup.
Additionally, Vebjørn Sørum (NOR) made a leap in performance this season. The 24-year-old took home three medals from the 2023 European Championships, and was rewarded with a spot on the World Cup team. Sørum returned the honor with helping Norway to first place in the relay at his very first World Cup.
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Photo by: Nordic Focus
Finally, at Vasaloppet 16-year-old Alvar Myhlback (SWE) finished eighth in his very first attempt at the 90-kilometer classic race from Sälen to Mora.
The Swedish junior, who had to apply for permission to participate because he is technically too young to enter, was only 15 seconds from the podium and 17 seconds behind the winner.
This is clearly just the beginning. Stay tuned!