Ida Nilsson (born February 8, 1981) 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 ...

long-distance runner who also competes in

ski mountaineering Ski mountaineering (abbreviated to skimo) is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipmen ...

. In 2003 – 2006 she won a total of ten gold medals in Swedish championships in track & field and cross country running, plus two

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

gold medals. After many years away from training Nilsson won the Swedish championship in ski mountaineering in 2016 and a couple of months later won the prestigious Transvulcania ultramarathon.

Childhood and youth

Nilsson hails from

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 36,392 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

in the flat southern Sweden. She grew up in a sports family where both her father Carl-Gustaf ”Calle” and mother Katarina competed at an elite level. Two brothers, Marcus and

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, and a sister,

Johanna Johanna is a feminine name, a variant form of Joanna that originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, including an -h- by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The original Greek form ''Iōanna'' lacks a medial /h/ because in Greek /h/ cou ...

, have belonged to the Swedish national team in athletics. At the 2002 Swedish cross country championships the family walked home with four gold medals, one silver and one bronze. In 2001–2005 Nilsson studied at the Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, USA. She and her sister,

Johanna Nilsson Johanna Nilsson (27 March 1983 – 25 June 2013) was a Swedish middle- and long-distance runner. She was a bronze medallist at the European Cross Country Championships in 2005. Despite an early retirement in 2006 she had a highly successful coll ...

, ran for the

Northern Arizona Lumberjacks The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks are the varsity athletic teams representing Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona in intercollegiate athletics. The school's mascot was adopted in 1946. The Lumberjacks compete in NCAA Division I and a ...

collegiate team and had much success. Nilsson won the 2004

collegiate outdoor championships in 3000 m steeplechase and 2005 indoor championships in 5000 m. The two sisters were both ranked in the top three of a 2014 poll of greatest women's athletes in the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eig ...

. Nilsson won four cross country titles in that regional conference. Both were inducted into the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks hall of fame.

Track & field and cross country

Top years

During the first years of the 21st century Nilsson was the Swedish dominant in 5000 metres and

3000 m steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the ho ...

, then a relatively new sport for women. In 2003, she was awarded the prestigious

Stora grabbars och tjejers märke Stora grabbars och tjejers märke (lit. ''Big Boys' and Girls' Badge'') is an honorary award within Swedish sports, created in 1928 by Bo Ekelund. The recipients are called a 'Stor Grabb' (lit. ''Big Boy'') and has to gather a certain number of poi ...

for her sports achievements. She finished seventh in the 3000m steeplechase at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, where she set the Swedish national record at 9:39.24, a personal best. She also participated in the

2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first IAAF ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

. In the summer of 2006 Nilsson ran 3000 m in 9:01.01, the fastest time by a Swedish athlete in more than 10 years. Nilsson's personal best for 5000 m is 15:33.18.

Injuries

After leaving college in Arizona Nilsson had a series of injuries, including a stress fracture in her hip joint in 2009. The injury didn’t fully heal until the summer of 2013, and Nilsson gave up her track & field career. After this she basically didn't run at all for five years.

Personal bests

The following list is based on information from Nilsson's club Högby IF. Nilsson has never run an official 10 000 m on a track; her best similar performance is 35:03 in a 2016 road race.

Mountain running and ski mountaineering

After many years of serious injuries Nilsson was finally able to run again in 2013. Nilsson: "Now even my body feels better than 10-15 years ago. Now I feel like young again." In 2015 Nilsson won the Swedish mountain marathon Fjällmaraton. Later the same year, in her ultramarathon debut, she placed second in the 90 kilometer Ultravasan in Sweden. In early 2016 she became ski mountaineering Swedish champion at Keb Classic (with Jenny Råghall) and won the Transvulcania mountain ultramarathon in the Canary Islands. Nilsson, who during her track & field career seldom ran as far as , now competed in a number of longer races. In 2016 and again in 2017 she became Swedish

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ...

champion in the

masters athletics Masters athletics is a class of the sport of athletics for athletes of over 35 years of age. The events include track and field, road running and cross country running. Competitors are bracketed into five-year age groups (which promotes fair comp ...

class for women 35 years. In the summer of 2016 Nilsson won the

Marathon du Mont Blanc The Marathon du Mont Blanc (Mont Blanc Marathon) is an annual marathon distance (42.195 km) alpine trail running event held in Chamonix, France. The Marathon du Mont Blanc race is the titular event but the name also refers to the group of l ...

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...

, France, proving that the unexpected Transvulcania win was not a fluke and planting Nilsson firmly in the world elite. During the winter 2015 – 2016 Nilsson lived in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and trained ski mountaineering with

Emelie Forsberg Emelie Tina Forsberg (born December 11, 1986) is a Swedish athlete specializing in trail running (skyrunning, mountain running) and ski mountaineering. She has won repeated victories in different disciplines, including European and World Champion ...

. According to Nilsson it was Forsberg who inspired her to test more ultratrail. In running events Nilsson competes for ''Högby IF'' in Sweden, ''Måndalen IL'' in Norway and ''Salomon Running'' internationally. In ski mountaineering her club affiliation is ''Fjällframfart'' in Swedish events. Nilsson has trained as a cook, a wilderness and adventure guide and as masseur. For a living she has run a small company registered in 2015 as a

sole proprietorship A sole proprietorship, also known as a sole tradership, individual entrepreneurship or proprietorship, is a type of enterprise owned and run by one person and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business entity. A sole ...

called ''Running soul – Ida Nilsson'', that according to the Facebook site with the same name offered "massage, sports massage, yoga classes, workshops and training camps for runners". As of 2018 Nilsson lives in Måndalen in the Rauma municipality in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, and makes a living from skyrunning and ski mountaineering. In 2018 Nilsson together with fellow athletes

and Mimmi Kotka started ''Moonvalley'', an on-line shop dedicated to organic energy bars and sportsdrinks.

Results

Cross country and sky running

The following list includes only results after Nilsson's comeback after her five year injury period. A fair number of the races, in particular in her native country Sweden, are asphalt races or otherwise not strictly cross country or mountain running. 2014 * 1st, Spring en mil vinn en bil , Sweden 2015 * 2nd, Kungsholmen Runt , Sweden * 2nd, Spring en mil vinn en bil , Sweden * 1st, Böda Beach run , Sweden * 2nd, , Sweden * 1st, Hornindal runt , Norway * 3rd, Vetenløpet VK, Norway * 1st, Victorialoppet , Sweden * 1st, Hornsjön Runt , Sweden * 6th, Peak Performance Vertical K, Sweden * 1st, Fjällmaraton , Sweden * 1st, Salomon Trail Tour Järvsö , Sweden * 2nd,

Ultravasan Ultravasan is an annual ultramarathon and trail run in Sweden, which was hosted for the first time in 2014. The race is arranged on two distances: * Ultravasan 45: 45 km, start in Oxberg and goal in Mora, following the second half of the Vasa ...

, Sweden * 2nd, Lidingöloppet , Sweden * 1st, Salomon Trail Tour Sälen, Sweden , Sweden 2016 * 1st, Nordic Classic Running , Sweden * 1st, Salomon City Trail , Sweden * 1st, Transvulcania , Spain * 15th,

Göteborgsvarvet Göteborgsvarvet () is an annual half marathon running competition in Gothenburg, Sweden (often called the Gothenburg Half Marathon in English). It is the largest annual running competition in the world in terms of entries, with its 62,000 ent ...

, Sweden (personal best for the half marathon distance) * 1st, Mönsterås Stadslopp , Sweden * 3rd, Sthlm 10 , Sweden (also Swedish championship in

, won the

class for women 35 years, personal best for the 10 km road running distance) * 1st, Öland Ultra , Sweden * 6th,

Vertical km, France * 1st,

, France * 1st, Böda Beach run , Sweden (2nd straight victory) * 10th, Dolomites Sky Race, 22 km, Italy * 4th, Buff Epic Trail , Spain (also World Championship in the Sky discipline) * 1st, Salomon 27K , Sweden (course record) * 3rd, Peak Performance Vertical K, Sweden * 1st, Fjällmaraton , Sweden (2nd straight victory, course record) * 1st, The Rut 50K, , Montana, USA * 1st, Nordic Extreme running, , Sweden * 2nd, Trail de l'Arclusaz , France * 1st, The North Face Endurance Challenge , San Francisco, USA * 1st, Sylvesterloppet, , Sweden (new course record) 2017 * 1st, Ultimate Tsaigu Trail , China * 1st, Yading VK, China * 1st, Yading Kora Ultra , China * 1st, Transvulcania , Spain (2nd straight victory, new course record) * 1st, Åndalsnesløpet , Norway * 3rd, Sthlm 10 , Sweden (also Swedish championship in

, won the

class for women 35 years for a 2nd straight victory) * 1st, Öland Ultra , Sweden (2nd straight victory, course record) * 2nd

, Italy * 1st, Böda Beach run , Sweden (3rd straight victory) * 3rd, , Sweden * 2nd, Mefjellet Opp, Vertical km, Norway * 1st, Swiss Alpine Marathon , Switzerland * 1st, Fjällmaraton , Sweden (3rd straight victory) * 1st,

, Sweden (new course record) * 3rd, Lidingöloppet , Sweden * 2nd, Grand Trail des Templiers , France * 1st
North Face Endurance Challenge
, California, USA (2nd straight victory) 2018 * 1st, Transvulcania , Spain (3rd straight victory) * 1st, Maratòn Alpina Zegama-Aizkorri , Spain * 1st, Birkebeinerløpet , Norway * 3rd, Sthlm 10 , Sweden (also Swedish championship in

, second in the

class for women 35 years) * 1st, Öland Ultra , Sweden (3rd straight victory, also 1st overall) * 2nd, Besseggløpet , Norway * 2nd,

, France * 1st, Mefjellet Opp, Vertical km, Norway * 1st, Swiss Alpine Marathon , Switzerland * 8th, Sierre-Zinal , Switzerland * 2nd,

, Sweden * 3rd Ultra-Trail Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix (CCC) , France * 6th, Lidingöloppet , Sweden * 9th, Otter African Trail Run , South Africa * 5th, Swedish Cross Country Championships , Sweden * 11th, Swedish Cross Country Championships , Sweden 2019 * 1st The Coastal Challenge , 6 stages, Costa Rica (new course record; 2nd overall) * 1st Monument Valley Half Marathon , USA * 1st Crown King Scramble , USA (new course record) * 1st Skälbyloppet , Sweden 2021 * 1st Victorialoppet , Sweden (second victory) * 1st Böda Sandsloppet , Sweden * 1st Salomon 27K , Sweden (second victory) * 1st Fjällmaraton , Sweden (fourth victory) * 2nd Idre Fjällmaraton , Sweden * 3rd, Romsdalseggenløpet , Norway * 1st, Marató Pirineu , Spain 2022 * 1st Fjällmaraton , Sweden (fifth victory) * 4th, Ultra Pirineu , Spain * 2nd, Trail World Championships , Thailand

World Cup wins

Ski mountaineering

Fastest Known Time (FKT)

She has held the

fastest known time A fastest known time (FKT) is the speed record for a running or hiking route. Unlike most endurance sports competitions such as marathon world records, FKTs are self-organized and done alone or in small groups. FKTs are most popular on long trails ...

on the following routes: Grand Canyon South Rim at Sunrise

* Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA, Women's FKT Rim-to Rim-to Rim (R2R2R), 7h29m16s, November 16, 2018. Taylor Newlin bettered Nilsson's time just a few days later.

References

Notes

External links

Ida Nilsson *
Ida Nilsson's Swedish blog on Runner's World

Ida Nilsson's profile at DUV

Ida Nilsson's profile at ITRA
Skyrunning
International Skyrunning Federation website

Skyrunner World Series website

Vertical Kilometer World Circuit website
Ski mountaineering
International Ski Mountaineering website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsson, Ida 1981 births Living people Swedish female long-distance runners Northern Arizona Lumberjacks women's track and field athletes Swedish mountain runners Swedish ultramarathon runners Swedish female ski mountaineers Female ultramarathon runners Swedish female steeplechase runners Swedish sky runners Northern Arizona Lumberjacks women's cross country runners People from Rauma, Norway