Sports are loved everywhere in the world, and so are the best star athletes. Scandinavia has always had and still does, some of the most celebrated athletes in the world. But who are these?
Scandinavian countries are even surprisingly athletic. Even American football and NFL week 5 odds are popular in these northern countries. We call this surprising simply because the climate could be strictly associated with winter sports. Even though there is no doubt that this does have an impact, there are still many great athletes also from more summery sports. Here are some of them.
Scandinavia is known for acing at winter sports
As we said, when it comes to Scandinavian sports, obviously winter sports hold a special spot. This means that many winter sports athletes have a lot of fans everywhere in the world. Swedish slalom champion Ingemar Stenmark managed to make Sweden famous for its level of winter sport, and Anja Paerson held the torch in a fantastic way afterward.
Even though Sweden is a fantastic winter sports country, its neighbor Norway is the home of the best cross-country sprinter in the whole history of the sport. This spot is held by Marit Bjørgen. When it comes to downhill skiing, Norway is also acknowledged as one of the best ones in the world, because of the champion Aksel Lund Svindal.
Winter sports now are not the only thing Scandinavians are great in
Even though winter sports are the ones where Scandinavian athletes shine the brightest, this is not the only type of sport they are good at. Norway has Grete Walz, who still holds the world record for finished marathons. She has run it nine times.
The Norwegian boxer Cecilie Brækhus has broken another record. In 2014 she became the very first woman to win four championship belts. This is an incredible accomplishment for absolutely anyone.
Swedish legends are known everywhere
Many accomplished athletes are coming from Scandinavia, but some of them are even known for their names everywhere in the world. Sweden has had two tennis legends whose names are still known. These are Björn Borg and Stefan Edberg.
Regarding football, there is one name that has risen over everyone else’s. His name is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and most people know him already by his first name. These three champions are so famous that they are even known amongst people who don’t care about sports too much.
