Add Sweden’s Jessica Lindell-Vikarby to list of retirees

By Published On: July 14th, 2015Comments Off on Add Sweden’s Jessica Lindell-Vikarby to list of retirees

After the last two highly successful seasons, with a World Championship medal and five podiums at the World Cup, 31-year old Jessica Lindell-Vikarby has announced the end of her alpine career.

“After reaching my goal with the World Championship bronze medal this winter and the success the season before with five podiums in GS and a second place in the GS overall World Cup, I feel that the timing is good to say goodbye to the sport as an active athlete,” said Lindell-Vikarby.

Lindell-Vikarby made her World Cup debut at Soelden in 2002 and has since accumulated 228 World Cup starts in all five disciplines. With that she has participated in three Olympic Games and has 18 starts at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships from the years 2003 to 2015.

To her record list, one can add eight podiums at the World Cup, including two victories in super G and giant slalom, a bronze medal at the World Ski Championships, gold medal at the junior World Ski Championships, and last but not least, 16 golds at the national championships in Sweden.

The past two seasons have been the best of her career. In 2013-14, she finished second in the giant slalom standings with five podiums. This past winter she finally achieved a World Championships medal, winning giant slalom bronze in Vail-Beaver Creek.

“It has been a fantastic journey and I am proud of what I have achieved on and off the race slopes. I will for sure miss the races and miss being around my second family, travelling around the world. I will take the opportunity to thank all of you – family, friends, fans and sponsors – who have supported me all these years. Now I will take some time off, let my body heal and figure out what new challenges I would like to have in the future,” she said.

A popular athlete, both within the Swedish team and at the World Cup circuit, she is the chairman of Athletes’ Commission at the International Ski Federation (FIS), a role where she serves as spokesperson for the athletes.

“I have known Jessica since she was 15 years old, and she is a role model for our younger racers, always fair play and happy for others success. The past two years, she has done a really good international job with the FIS,” said Secretary General of the Swedish Ski Association Niklas Carlsson.

“Of course we will miss Jessica in our team, we wish her good luck with her upcoming project and all the best in the future,” added Sports Director Anders Sundqvist.

Release courtesy of SSA

Share This Article

About the Author: SR Staff Report