Nils Emanuel Karlsson (25 June 1917 – 16 June 2012), better known as Mora-Nisse, was 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 ...

cross-country skier. Karlsson won gold in the 50 km event at the

1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (; ; ; ) and commonly known as St. Moritz 1948 (; ), were a winter multi-sport event held from 30 January to 8 February 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Games were the ...

and nine

Vasaloppet (Swedish language, Swedish for 'the Vasa race') is an annual long distance cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country ski race held on the first Sunday of March. The course starts in the village of :sv:Berga, Malung-Sälens kommun, Berga, jus ...

victories.

Biography

He was born near

Mora Mora may refer to: People * José Maria Mora (1847–1926), Cuban-American photographer, often credited as "Mora" * Mora (singer) (born 1996), a Puerto Rican singer * Mora (surname), a Spanish name (includes a list of people with the name) Plac ...

. He won the Olympic gold medal in the 50 km at the

, a bronze medal in 50 km at the

1950 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1950 took place during February 1–6, 1950 in Lake Placid, New York, United States and Rumford, Maine, United States. This was Lake Placid's second time hosting the championships after having done so at the 1 ...

, and a total of 37 gold medals in Swedish national championships, 17 in individual competition. He also won

nine times (in 1943, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1953). Karlsson won the

Holmenkollen ski festival The Holmenkollen Ski Festival ( or ) is a traditional annual Nordic skiing event in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway. The full official name of the event is Holmenkollen FIS World Cup Nordic. History It takes place in March and has been arranged every ...

50 km event twice (1947 and 1951) as well. For his success in cross-country skiing, Karlsson was awarded the Holmenkollen medal in 1952 (shared with

Stein Eriksen Stein Eriksen (11 December 1927 – 27 December 2015) was an alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from Norway. Following his racing career, he was a ski school director and ambassador at various resorts in the United States. Background ...

Torbjørn Falkanger Torbjørn Falkanger (8 October 1927 in Trondheim – 16 July 2013) was a Norwegian ski jumper who was active in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Falkanger earned a silver medal at the 1952 Winter Olympics in ski jumping and also won the Ho ...

and

Heikki Hasu Heikki Vihtori Hasu (21 March 1926 – 5 April 2025) was a Finnish Nordic skier who competed in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics. Career Hasu won a gold and a silver medal in the individual Nordic combined event, respectively, and a gold in the 4&nb ...

). Eight years earlier, Karlsson was awarded the

Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal The Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal (, but usually simply called ''Bragdguldet'', "The Feat Gold") is an annual award "for the most significant Sweden, Swedish sports achievement of the year". It has been awarded by a jury led by the Swedish morning ...

. Karlsson has meant a lot to Vasaloppet, initially through his many victories. With the aid of

Sven Jerring Sven Alfred Teodor Jerring (born ''Jonsson'', 8 December 1895 – 27 April 1979) was a Swedish radio man who for almost 50 years worked as a presenter, sports journalist, and commentator at the national Swedish broadcasting company AB Radiotjäns ...

's radio sports commentary, he made Vasaloppet known throughout the country. After his active career, he participated in the administration of Vasaloppet, both as a leader and as chief of the course. Two of his grandchildren have been successful in the Vasaloppet - Erik Eriksson has repeatedly finished within the top ten, once ending up in a fourth place; meanwhile Anders Eriksson was once 38th. Between 1954 and 1966 Karlsson trained the national cross-country skiing team, yet he lived all his life in his native village Östnor near Mora, where a road was named after him during his lifetime, and where he ran the sport equipment store "Mora-Nisse Sports". The Mora-Nisse's Jubilee Fund was established on his 65th birthday, which supports young Swedish skiers.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games

* 1 medal – (1 gold)

World Championships

* 1 medal – (1 bronze)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karlsson, Nils 1917 births 2012 deaths People from Östnor Cross-country skiers from Dalarna County Swedish male cross-country skiers Olympic cross-country skiers for Sweden Cross-country skiers at the 1948 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1952 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Holmenkollen medalists Holmenkollen Ski Festival winners Vasaloppet winners Olympic medalists in cross-country skiing FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in cross-country skiing Medalists at the 1948 Winter Olympics IFK Mora cross-country skiers 20th-century Swedish sportsmen