Meeri Annikki Bodelid (Jaako) (born December 23, 1943, in

Tornio Tornio (; sv, Torneå; sme, Duortnus ; smn, Tuárnus) is a city and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The city forms a cross-border twin city together with Haparanda on the Swedish side. The municipality covers an area of , of which is ...

, Finland) 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 ...

multi sport athlete. Standing she left her mark, winning Swedish national championships in three sports. She competed for Sweden in the

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe ...

in the

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

5 km, 10 km and 3 × 5 km relay. Bodelid also represented Sweden at three world championships. She also was Swedish national champion in team cycling in 1971 and 1972, teamed with Elisabet Höglund and Monica Bengtsson. In 1975 she won the national championship in the individual 60 km road race. In 1980 she took up

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

running while still setting record in cross-country skiing. By 1982 she became the Swedish national champion by finishing second behind

Ingrid Kristiansen Ingrid Kristiansen (née Christensen on 21 March 1956) is a Norwegian former athlete. She was one of the best female long-distance runners during the 1980s. She is a former world record holder in the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres and the marathon ...

at the

Stockholm Marathon The Stockholm Marathon, known as the adidas Stockholm Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon arranged in Stockholm, Sweden, since 1979. It serves as the Swedish marathon championship race. At the 2009 Stockholm Marathon more t ...

. She narrowly missed making the Swedish Olympic team in the marathon in 1984, setting her personal best at age 40 in 2:39:39. She represented Sweden in the 1987

World Marathon Cup The IAAF World Marathon Cup was an international event organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations every two years. From 1997 until 2011 (its final year) it was incorporated with IAAF World Championships in Athletics. Ed ...

already at age 43. In 1993, she was still competing, setting the masters W45 World Record in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

at age 49. She was also an early pioneer in

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...

and

duathlon Duathlon is an athletic event that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg and then another running leg in a format similar to triathlons. The International Triathlon Union governs the sport internationally. Distance and format ...

, starting in 1983. After working as a coach and then a massage therapist, she began her education at the Scandinavian Chiropractic College at age 50 and became a licensed

chiropractor Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It has esoteric origins and is based on several pseudoscie ...

four years later.

Cross-country skiing results

Olympic Games

World Championships

References

1943 births Living people Swedish female cross-country skiers Cross-country skiers at the 1972 Winter Olympics Swedish female cyclists Swedish female triathletes Swedish female long-distance runners Swedish female marathon runners Olympic cross-country skiers for Sweden Swedish masters athletes World record holders in masters athletics People from Tornio 20th-century Swedish women 21st-century Swedish women {{Sweden-athletics-bio-stub