Therese Johaug

Therese Johaug’s story started 25th of June 1988 on a little farm in Dalsbygda, Norway. From being an unknown farm girl who loved skiing, she has become one of Scandinavia’s most popular and prominent athletes. Therese is known for her extreme determination and competitive mindset, but also for having a down to earth and outgoing personality.

She got her national breakthrough under det national championship in Meråker in 2007, where she took the bronze medal in the 15 km skiathlon. The performance gave her a spot in her two first World Cup races short time after, where she finished in 8th place in the 10 km classic, securing herself a spot for the World Championship (WC) in Sapporo the same year. There she won a surprising bronze medal at the 30 km mass start and became the youngest medal winner, ever, in a XC World Cup, only 18 years old!

The results kept coming, and during the Olympic Games in Vancouver 2010 she took her first Olympic medal with gold in the relay. She earned her first individual gold medal at the 30 km mass start in the WC 2011 in Holmenkollen, where she also won gold in the relay and finished third at the 15 km skiathlon. In 2013 Therese won four medals at the WC inVal di Fiemme: two gold medals, one silver and one bronze.

Demanding climbs and long distances early became her strength. In the 2013/14-season she became the first Norwegian woman to win Tour de Ski, reaching the finish line first at the top of the infamous “monster hill” in Val di Fiemme. The same season, she also won the World Cup for the first time. In 2014 she won a silver and bronze medal during the Olympics in Sotsji in 30 and 10 km.

During the WC the following year, she completed her, until then, best championship in terms of results; three gold medals: 15 km skiathlon, 30 km mass start and relay. She surpassed these results during the WC in Seefeld 2019, where she won at total of three individual gold, plus a silver from the relay. However, her best WC came in Oberstdorf in 2021, where she won all the races; a total of four gold medals.

Additionally, Therese has also made her mark as a track and field runner. In 202 she she participated in the Impossible Games at Bislett Stadium, where se ran 10 000 meters in 31 min and 49,6 sec. The time was strong enough to qualify for the WC, but she chose not to participate to fully focus on Beijing 2022.

During the Olympic Games in Beijing 2022, she took her first individual Olympic gold medal in 15km skiathlon, gold medal in 10 km Classic and 30 km In March the same year, Therese announced that it would be her last season as a professional athlete, leaving a legacy as one of Norway’s most iconic athletes.

Therese Johaug has won 19 WC-medals and 6 Olympic medals, where 18 of them is GOLD. She has won the World Cup three times (2013/14, 2015/16 & 2019/20), included three victories in Tour de Ski. Additionally she has won 31 National Championship medals; 18 gold, 9 silver and 4 bronze.