Catching up with Para alpine skiing star Ebba Aarsjoe

“Wow, is it that long?”

Little more than two months since the end of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games and Sweden’s Ebba Aarsjoe still feels like she is ‘in the bubble’.

The 25-year-old Para alpine skiing athlete won three gold medals and a bronze to go with the two golds and bronze she claimed at Beijing 2022 - where she became Sweden's first Para alpine skiing medallist in 20 years - and she continues to ride that wave of success.

“It's been many weeks of relaxing, celebrating, a lot of fun,” she said with a laugh. “I have had to do lots of interviews too.”

Reassuringly, she sees media interest as all part of the fun. “I like it,” she says. “It doesn't take any energy, it's no problem. It's better if people want to talk to you than not.”

Aarsjoe was not always so confident in her own skin. Born with Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome, she has reduced muscles and problems with blood circulation in her right leg.

“I have been doing sports all my life - it’s who I am; I am a person with a lot of energy,” she said. “But Para sport has been my rescue, my saviour, because I was in a really dark place for many years when I was a teenager. 

“I was depressed. I was faking being happy for so long, then one day suddenly, after a few years of doing Para sport, I was genuinely happy – it was life-changing.”

“I was super nervous”

Once she discovered Para alpine skiing, Aarsjoe's ascent was as steep as Cortina's famous Olimpia delle Tofane downhill course.

After winning two gold medals at the 2021 World Para Skiing Championships, she gained international prominence by winning golds in the super combined and slalom events at Beijing 2022 plus a bronze in the downhill. She went one better at Milano Cortina, winning three golds and a bronze.

“China was awesome. It was my first Paralympics and everything was new, but it didn't feel like 'The Games',” she said, referring to the Covid-19 restrictions that were still in place.

“This (Milano Cortina) was a lot different. I am super happy with my results, of course, but the memories were like 'wow'. The trip was so memorable. I had my friends and family there, it was so open. It was amazing. 

“The races were in the daytime and it was broadcast on national TV in Sweden, so a lot more people saw us and there were a lot more people talking about the Paralympic Games.”

Aarsjoe's favourite moment of Milano Cortina came on the first day of  Para alpine skiing competition, when she won gold in the downhill standing, an event she gave up after Beijing.

“It's kind of hard for my leg doing all five disciplines for a race season, so it felt normal quitting downhill and super-G because I’m a technical skier. It’s not because I don’t like it – I really love speed and it’s so fun to jump. A  year before the Games, I was like ‘it’s the Games, of course I’m going to do downhill', so I started training again. In a way, it freed my mind up for the downhill. I could just go for it.

“I was super nervous, but I’d been training and the inspection went really well. I studied the course so much, I was staying up all night studying every turn, so I knew exactly what to do. But at the same time, I didn’t have any expectations, so the first day in Cortina, the sun is out, my family is there, the stands are full, I was like, whoa, wow!”

Meeting royalty and TV presenting 

Away from the slopes, Aarsjoe found herself in demand after Beijing 2022, meeting royalty, appearing on celebrity reality shows and even doing some TV presenting of her own (“maybe there's a future there”). 

Following her heroics in Cortina, though, the attention has gone up a level.

“I've noticed people recognising me in the streets more. Sometimes when I am out and people are drunk, they are more confident and come forward. But it's not too much. People are very calm in Sweden and respectful of celebrities. 

“I have had some offers (of reality TV) but it's similar, mainly in the same direction as it was before.”

What about following in the path of other Para athletes, such as Swedish Para athlete Aron Anderson, by appearing in Let's Dance, Sweden's answer to Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with the Stars?

“Sure. I feel like if Aron can do it, I can do it.”

What's next?

Now that the Games have concluded, now it is the time for her to focus on herself. 

“My focus is on my body, that's my priority. I have so much pain in my leg when I'm walking and standing. I have really strong compression socks, but it doesn't help so I am talking to doctors about having an operation. 

“I'm excited because I have been waiting so long, and I if I want to keep doing this sport, I have to do something about it. I'm just 25 and I'm young fit and healthy, but what happens when I'm 40? When you're older, everything hurts more!”

The French Alps 2030 Paralympic Winter Games, which take place from 1-10 March 2030, will be held just a few months after Aarsjoe’s 29th birthday.

“Everyone is asking about it and of course I am thinking about it,” she said. “After Milano Cortina, I felt ‘I want to do more of this, it’s my life, it’s too good to quit’.”