Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
TikTok
Vilde Nilsen is one of Norway’s emerging stars in Nordic skiing.
She made a name for herself at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, claiming an unexpected silver in the women’s cross-country sprint standing.
Nilsen extended her success into the new season, with five golds and one silver in cross-country, and two silvers in biathlon across two World Cups. She is now preparing for her second World Championships, set to take place in Prince George, Canada.
At her first in Finsterau, Germany, in 2017, she finished fifth in both the cross-country sprint and mixed relay.
When she is not on the skis, Nilsen can be seen going on forest walks with her dog, fishing, hunting, playing the violin, guitar and piano.
At age eight she contracted linear scleroderma in her left foot, leg, thigh and hip. The condition attacks the skin, muscles and connective tissue and resulted in restricted mobility in the joints, less muscle mass and a leg length difference.
"I've always been a girl with a lot of energy and a great competitive spirit. I think it was sport that helped me through the most difficult time when my illness was at its worst."
Biography
Impairment information
Further personal information
Sport specific information
General interest
She competes in both Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing. "I have been doing biathlon for a very long time and I just had a break this year [speaking in 2020]. I tried to focus on biathlon for a while, but it was very hard to focus on cross-country too because I had to do some classic skiing. It takes a lot of time to train with the weapon and it took up a lot of energy. So this year I decided to just focus on cross-country. But I couldn't resist to compete at the 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships in Lillehammer, Norway. But we will see next year if I will compete in biathlon in Lillehammer." (paralympic.org, 16 May 2020)
AMBASSADOR
In 2020 she became an ambassador for MOT, a global charity founded by Norwegian speed skaters Atle Varvik and Johann Olav Koss which aims to create a safer society through education and sports. "I want to become ambassador of MOT because I want to help promote bravery. For me it has been necessary and important to be brave, to be able to reach my goals and have a good everyday life. When I got sick and also got the impairment, I decided to see it as opportunities, not limitations. I had to be brave and dare to have the courage to live a valuable life. That is why MOT has been very important to me." (mot.no, 27 May 2020)
Results
| Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Sprint - Free Style Standing | Final | 2017-02-12 | 5 | |
| Mixed Relay | Final | 2017-02-15 | 5 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's 6km Standing | Final | 2018-03-10 | 5 | |
| Women's 1.5km Sprint Classic Standing | Final | 2018-03-14 | 2 | |
| Women's 7.5km Classic Standing | Final | 2018-03-17 | 5 | |
| 4x2.5km Mixed Relay | Final | 2018-03-18 | 8 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Middle Distance - Free Style Standing | Final | 2019-02-17 | 1 | |
| Women's Sprint - Free Style Standing | Final | 2019-02-18 | 1 | |
| Women's Sprint Standing | Final | 2019-02-20 | 3 | |
| Open Relay | Final | 2019-02-23 | 1 | |
| Women's Long Distance - Classic Standing | Final | 2019-02-24 | 1 |
