Hans Olsson (alpine skier)

Hans Olsson
Personal information
NationalitySwedish
Born (1984-08-27) 27 August 1984 (age 40)
Mora, Sweden
SpouseMaria Pietilä-Holmner (2004-)
Sport
SportAlpine skiing
Medal record
Representing  Sweden
Men's alpine skiing
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2007 Åre Team event
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Team event
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2004 Maribor Super-G

Hans Anders Olsson (born 27 August 1984, in Mora, Sweden) is a Swedish former alpine skier.[1] He represented Sweden at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver,[2] where he came 12th in downhill. He also represented Sweden at the 2007, 2009 and 2011 Alpine World Ski Championships.[3] Olsson specialised in the speed disciplines of super-G and particularly downhill.

Hans' brother Jon Olsson Delér, is an alpine ski racer and a freestyle skier who has won multiple Winter X Games medals. Hans took a gold medal at the 2004 World Junior Alpine Skiing Championships, where he won the super-G.[4]

Olsson made his debut in the Alpine Ski World Cup at Kvitfjell in 2003–04 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup: he went on to make a total of 155 World Cup starts.[3] His best position in the season-long World Cup standings in downhill was 12th, which he achieved in 2008-09.[5] His career highlights include podium finishes in World Cup races at Lake Louise, Canada, and Åre, Sweden, in 2008 and 2009 respectively. During his racing career, Olsson initially lived on Frösön,[6] before moving to Innsbruck, Austria.[7] He is multilingual, speaking Swedish, German and English.

Hans Olsson announced his retirement from competition on 16 April 2015,[8] following three seasons in which he was plagued by injuries. In August of that year he took up a position in the organisation of the 2019 Alpine World Ski Championships in Åre,[3] also moving to the village.[9] He has been in a relationship with fellow alpine skier Maria Pietilä Holmner since 2004:[7] as of 2018 the couple were engaged.[10] They both worked as part of the team covering alpine skiing at the 2018 Winter Olympics for Eurosport.[11]

He is a member of IFK Mora.[4]

  1. ^ "Hans Olsson". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Hans Olsson, Alpine Skiing". Vancouver 2010. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  3. ^ a b c "A new start for Hans Olsson". International Ski Federation. 16 April 2015. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  4. ^ a b "SkiStar lanserar Training Camp i Sälen" [SkiStar launches Training Camp in Sälen] (Press release) (in Swedish). SkiStar. TT News Agency. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  5. ^ "Hans Olsson". International Ski Federation. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Fakta: Hans Olsson" [Facts: Hans Olsson]. Sundsvalls Tidning (in Swedish). 23 November 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  7. ^ a b Svensson, Ulrika (2 July 2012). "Couples rehab: Maria Pietilä-Holmner & Hans Olsson". International Ski Federation. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  8. ^ Jörgen Wåger (16 April 2015). "Hans Olsson lägger av" (in Swedish). Dalarnas Tidningar. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  9. ^ "Alpina stjärnor "flyttar" till Åre" [Alpine stars "move" to Åre]. Dalarnas Tidningar (in Swedish). 16 July 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  10. ^ "Familjelängtande "PH" ler mot karriärslutet" [Family-longing "PH" smiles at the end of her career]. sydsvenskan.se (in Swedish). 17 January 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  11. ^ Ruuth, Tomas. "Klart: Maria PH till OS – som tv-expert" [Clear: Maria PH to Olympic Games - as a TV expert]. Folkbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 19 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.