Emil Persson establishes award for cross-country skiing enthusiasts

Now Sweden's "True Ski Heroes" will be honored - a newly established award by Emil Persson and Betssons

sports fund. The prize aims to celebrate and reward enthusiasts who enable the local

cross-country skiing. “Every third Swede is dependent on someone tracking every year and

"The majority of cross-country tracks are run by non-profit associations," says Emil Persson.

Emil Persson has been one of the great dominants on the Ski Classics tour in recent years.

where he won the tour in both 20/21 and 22/23 and came second in the season in between. 2023

Emil also won Vasaloppet as the first Swede in 10 years. Now Emil wants to support others and

the focus is not on other skiers, but on the snow – or rather, the tracks in the snow. As

new ambassador for the gaming company Betsson, they are now launching the project "True Ski Heroes", where

People around the country who make cross-country skiing possible should be celebrated.

“In Sweden, there are over 60,000 skiers who are affiliated with clubs, and even more who ski

at a hobby level. The majority of cross-country tracks are run by non-profit associations. I

hope that this award will recognize and celebrate the people around the country who

enables me and everyone else to train and enjoy the trails in forests, on golf courses and

fields,” says Emil Persson.

A total of 10 people will be honored, and all winners will receive a diploma and a

gift certificate of 5000 SEK. The winners are selected by a jury consisting of Emil himself, Markus Laggar,

head of the Lager 157 Ski Team, and Betsson's head of sponsorship Linus Endahl. Nominations by

Enthusiasts can be found at betssonsidrottsfond.se, and the last day for nominations is January 31st.

The winning ski heroes will be presented during the month of February.

Betsson's Sports Fund is an initiative by the betting company Betsson which aims to support Swedish sports.

sports, especially at the grassroots level. Since 2022, they have, together with the hockey profile

Christian "Fimpen" Eklund, among other things, has paid tribute to 63 local hockey heroes in Sweden's 21 counties.