Quick Facts
Biography
Magdalena "Magda" Forsberg (born 25 July 1967 as Magdalena Wallin) is a former Swedish cross country skier and biathlete. She was the dominating female biathlete from 1997 to 2002, when she retired, winning the Biathlon World Cup for six years straight. She is also a six-times world champion, a two-times Olympic bronze medalist, and holds the record for the most World Cup victories in women's biathlon.
She has been married to Henrik Forsberg since 1996, also a biathlete and cross country skier.
Cross country skiing
Forsberg competed as a cross country skier from 1988 to 1996, participating in the World Cup. Her best results at the Winter Olympics were in Albertville in 1992 where she finished seventh in the 4 × 5 km relay and 26th in the 15 km event.
Forsberg's best individual finish at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships was tenth in the 30 km event at Lahti in 1989. In 1987 she was in the Swedish team that finished third in the 4 × 5 km relay. Her best World cup finish was second in a 10 km event in Finland in 1988.
Biathlon
Competing from 1993 to 2002, Forsberg won six straight overall wins in the Biathlon World Cup from 1997 to 2002. She also won six gold medals in the World Championships, became runner-up once, and placed third five times. At the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, Forsberg won two bronze medals. In her career she managed a total of 42 individual Biathlon World Cup wins, which is more than any other female biathlete to date.
Magdalena Forsberg retired from active sports after the 2001–02 season. After being retired for four years she made a temporary comeback in April 2006 due to losing a bet. The bet said Forsberg would enter the Swedish Championship in Women's Relay with fellow biathlon skier Anna Carin Olofsson-Zidek if the latter won an Olympic gold in Turin. The duo went on to win the competition, Forsberg outrunning her competitors in the first leg and Olofsson extending their lead in the second.
During large parts of her career, Forsberg was trained by Wolfgang Pichler, who later took over as coach of the national Swedish biathlon team.
Other honors
Forsberg competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics both as a biathlete and as a cross country skier. She is the only Swedish athlete to have won Jerringpriset four times.
Biathlon results
All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.
Olympic Games
2 medals (2 bronze)
| Event | Individual | Sprint | Pursuit | Relay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 1998 Nagano | 14th | 17th | N/A | 10th |
 2002 Salt Lake City | Bronze | Bronze | 6th | — |
- *Pursuit was added as an event in 2002.
World Championships
12 medals (6 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze)
| Event | Individual | Sprint | Pursuit | Mass start | Team | Relay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1995 Antholz-Anterselva | 7th | 19th | N/A | N/A | — | 14th |
 1996 Ruhpolding | 15th | Bronze | N/A | N/A | 9th | 10th |
 1997 Brezno-Osrblie | Gold | Bronze | Gold | N/A | 11th | 16th |
 1998 Pokljuka | N/A | N/A | Gold | N/A | 7th | N/A |
 1999 Kontiolahti | 6th | Silver | 5th | Bronze | N/A | — |
 2000 Oslo Holmenkollen | Bronze | 4th | Gold | 4th | N/A | 13th |
| 2001 Pokljuka | Gold | 6th | Bronze | Gold | N/A | — |
| 2002 Oslo Holmenkollen | N/A | N/A | N/A | 8th | N/A | N/A |
- *During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.
- **Team was removed as an event in 1998, and pursuit was added in 1997 with mass start being added in 1999.
Individual victories
42 victories (7 In, 13 Sp, 19 Pu, 3 MS)
| Season | Date | Location | Discipline | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994–95 1 victory (1 Sp) | 28 January 1995 | Ruhpolding | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup |
| 1995–96 1 victory (1 In) | 14 December 1995 | Oslo Holmenkollen | 15 km individual | Biathlon World Cup |
| 1996–97 4 victories (1 In, 1 Sp, 2 Pu) | 4 January 1997 | Oberhof | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup |
| 5 January 1997 | Oberhof | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 2 February 1997 | Brezno-Osrblie | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Championships | |
| 7 February 1997 | Brezno-Osrblie | 15 km individual | Biathlon World Championships | |
| 1997–98 6 victories (1 In, 3 Sp, 2 Pu) | 13 December 1997 |  Östersund | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup |
| 20 December 1997 | Kontiolahti | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 8 January 1998 | Ruhpolding | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 3 March 1998 | Pokljuka | 15 km individual | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 7 March 1998 | Pokljuka | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 8 March 1998 | Pokljuka | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Championships | |
| 1998–99 4 victories (2 Sp, 2 Pu) | 11 December 1998 |  Hochfilzen | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup |
| 12 December 1998 | Hochfilzen | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 25 February 1999 | Lake Placid | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 6 March 1999 |  Valcartier | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 1999–2000 3 victories (1 Sp, 2 Pu) | 9 December 1999 | Pokljuka | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup |
| 20 February 2000 | Oslo Holmenkollen | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Championships | |
| 18 March 2000 |  Khanty-Mansiysk | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 2000–01 14 victories (2 In, 4 Sp, 6 Pu, 2 MS) | 8 December 2000 | Antholz-Anterselva | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup |
| 16 December 2000 | Antholz-Anterselva | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 17 December 2000 | Antholz-Anterselva | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 5 January 2001 | Oberhof | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 6 January 2001 | Oberhof | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 7 January 2001 | Oberhof | 12.5 km mass start | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 13 January 2001 | Ruhpolding | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 14 January 2001 | Ruhpolding | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 18 January 2001 | Antholz-Anterselva | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 6 February 2001 | Pokljuka | 15 km individual | Biathlon World Championships | |
| 9 February 2001 | Pokljuka | 12.5 km mass start | Biathlon World Championships | |
| 28 February 2001 | Salt Lake City | 15 km individual | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 3 March 2001 | Salt Lake City | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 17 March 2001 | Oslo Holmenkollen | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 2001–02 9 victories (2 In, 1 Sp, 5 Pu, 1 MS) | 6 December 2001 | Hochfilzen | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup |
| 9 December 2001 | Hochfilzen | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 12 December 2001 | Pokljuka | 15 km individual | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 16 December 2001 | Pokljuka | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 20 December 2001 | Brezno-Osrblie | 15 km individual | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 22 December 2001 | Brezno-Osrblie | 12.5 km mass start | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 11 January 2002 | Oberhof | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 10 March 2002 | Östersund | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 23 March 2002 | Oslo Holmenkollen | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup |
- *Results are from UIPMB and IBU races which include the Biathlon World Cup, Biathlon World Championships and the Winter Olympic Games.
- "Magdalena Forsberg". IBU Datacenter. International Biathlon Union. Retrieved 21 May 2015.