Åsarna IK, founded in 1924, is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

sports club in

Åsarna Åsarna, older spelling: Åsarne, is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality situated in Berg Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden with 268 inhabitants in 2010. References

Populated places in Berg Municipality Jämtland {{Jämtland-geo ...

Jämtland Jämtland () is a historical provinces of Sweden, province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland, Sweden, Lapland to the north and Trøndelag and Norw ...

. The club has had many prominent competitors in

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

, which is evident in the nickname of the village Åsarna, ''Guldbyn'' (Gold Village), which was coined after the

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...

when three out of the four competitors in the men's relay competition came from the club. Åsarna IK has also spawned prominent track and field athletes.

History

The club was founded on 1 May 1924 as Åsarna IK, before changing name on 1 February 1942, following a merger with Åsarna BK.

Anton Bolinder Anton Bolinder (3 June 1915 – 7 December 2006) was a Swedish high jumper. He won a gold medal at the 1946 European Athletics Championships setting a new national record at . For this achievement he was awarded the Stora grabbars märke St ...

(b. 1915), who started jumping in a gravel pit in Åsarna, became the European champion in

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

in 1946 (jumping 1,99 m), and runner John Isberg broke the junior world record for 1500 m five times in the 1940s. By the time of their international breakthroughs, both Bolinder and Isberg had changed clubs to

IFK Östersund IFK Östersund is a Swedish football club located in Östersund in Jämtland. Background Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Östersund were founded on 7 March 1906 at the Café Temperance in Östersund. The club subsequently joined the IFK movement ...

. Bolinder became Swedish champion twice in high jump. In mid 2015 a book about Åsarna IK appeared. The club's chairperson since 2014, Ingvar Borg (1954–2017), died in a snow scooter accident in December 2017.

Notable skiers from Åsarna IK

Jens Burman Jens Burman (born 16 August 1994) is a Swedish Cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skier who competes internationally. He competed for Sweden at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2017 in Lahti, Finland. Cross-country skiing results ...

Hanna Erikson Hanna Erikson (born June 2, 1990) is a Swedish cross-country skier. She won three medals in the 2009 Junior World Championships. Erikson, then competing as Hanna Brodin, was second in a World Cup sprint in Otepää in January 2011, only beaten ...

Ida Ingemarsdotter Ida Maria Erika Ingemarsdotter (born 26 April 1985) is a Swedish cross-country skiing coach and former skier who competed between 2003 and 2019. Skiing career Ingemarsdotter has a total of five individual victories at various levels up to 15&nbs ...

* Mats Larsson *

Moa Lundgren Moa Lundgren (born 14 April 1998) is a Swedish cross-country skier who represents the club IFK Umeå. The 2022–2023 season saw her winning the Scandinavian Cup. Cross-country skiing results All results are sourced from the International S ...

Torgny Mogren Torgny Mogren (born 26 July 1963) is a Swedish former cross-country skier who competed from 1984 to 1998. He won the gold medal in the 4 × 10 km relay at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. His best individual finish was a fifth in the co ...

Lars Nelson Lars Fredrik Nelson (born 19 August 1985, Funäsdalen) is a Swedish cross-country skier. Biography He represented Sweden at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. On 16 February he competed in the first (classical) leg in the men's team relay ...

* Anna Olsson * Johan Olsson *

Jan Ottosson Jan Ottosson (born 10 March 1960 in Högsäter, Dalsland) is a former Swedish cross-country skier. A national team skier, he also represented Åsarna IK during the 1980s and early 1990s. He won two gold medals in the 4 × 10 km relay at th ...

Thomas Wassberg Lars Thomas Wassberg (born 27 March 1956) is a Swedish former cross-country skier. A fast skating style – push for every leg – is still called "Wassberg" after him in several countries. Wassberg's skiing idols when growing up were Sixten ...

Emma Wikén Emma Christina Wikén (born 1 May 1989) is a Swedish retired cross-country skier who competed in the cross-country World Cup. During the Swedish championships in skiathlon in Falun 2013, Wikén won gold. At the 2014 Winter Olympics, Wikén won ...

Lars-Göran Åslund Lars-Göran Åslund (born June 7, 1945 in Åsarna). is a former Swedish cross-country skier who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His biggest success was at the 1970 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Vysoké Tatry where he ...

Winners of Vasaloppet

Sofia Lind Sofia Lind, (born 4 September 1975), is a Swedish cross-country skier. She won the women's race at the Vasaloppet (Swedish language, Swedish for 'the Vasa race') is an annual long distance cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country ski ra ...

– 1996, 1997, 1999, 2004 and 2005 *

Hans Persson Hans Persson, born 18 January 1959, is a Swedish former cross-country skier, specialized at long-distance races. In 1984, he won Vasaloppet. Representing at Åsarna IK Åsarna IK, founded in 1924, is a Sweden, Swedish sports club in Åsarna, ...

– 1984 *

Peter Göransson Peter Göransson (born 20 May 1969) is a former Swedish cross-country skier who competed from 1993 to 2003. His best World Cup finish was 12th in a sprint event in Sweden in 1997. He won Vasaloppet (Swedish language, Swedish for 'the Vasa ra ...

– 1998 *

– 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asarna IK Sports clubs and teams established in 1924 Multi-sport clubs in Sweden 1924 establishments in Sweden Sports clubs and teams in Jämtland County Berg Municipality 20th-century establishments in Jämtland County