10 Swedish sports stars

2. Armand Duplantis – pole vault supremo

Born to an American father and a Swedish mother, pole vaulter Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis grew up in the US. He may hold dual citizenship, but Sweden happily counts him as one of our Swedish sports stars. 

We hope Armand has invested in a very big medal cabinet, because the golds have been steadily coming since his breakthrough in 2018. That’s when he won the European Championships in Berlin, Germany clearing 6.05 metres – aged 18.

Since then, he has piled up two Olympic golds, two outdoor World Championships, two indoor World Championships, another two outdoor European Championships, and one indoor European Championship. 

He holds the world record since 2020, and has polished it more than two handfuls of time – his current record stands at 6.28 metres.

The sky seems to be Armand’s only limit.

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3. Daniel Ståhl – discus dominant

Daniel Ståhl’s surname means ‘steel’ in Swedish – quite fitting for a discus thrower with both Olympic and World Championship golds in his baggage. 

When Ståhl triumphed at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, he secured Sweden’s first World Championship gold in athletics on the men’s side since 2003. Another two international golds have followed since. 

 At the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan – staged in 2021 – he arrived as the overwhelming favourite after finishing several seasons as the world number one. And he delivered, with a winning throw already in the second round, 68.90 metres. 

 At the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, he faced more adversity and only sealed the gold on his final attempt, with a throw of 71.46 metres. 

At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in a highly competitive final, Ståhl managed a seventh place. 

4. Ebba Årsjö – alpine daredevil

Ebba Årsjö rapidly established herself on the Para alpine skiing scene by winning two World Cup races in her debut season (2019–2020). She has since grown into something of a titan in her sport.

She won the overall World Cup both in 2024 and 2025, and to date, Ebba has eight world championships golds to her name – the most recent two in slalom and giant slalom the super-G at the 2025 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships in Maribor, Slovenia.

Back in 2022 at the Paralympics in Beijing, she first raced to a downhill bronze before winning golds both in the super-combined and in slalom. 

Ebba was born with Klippel-Trénaunay syndrome, but opted to keep it a secret most of her childhood as she trained and competed with the junior elite in Sweden. At the age of 17, her right-leg strength seriously began affecting her skiing, and in 2019 she formally switched to Para sports.      

5. Isabelle Haak – volleyball star

There are more widely known Swedish athletes than Isabelle Haak, but few dominate their sport like her. Already established as one of the top names in international volleyball, Isabelle has won nearly everything there is to win at the club level – and often as a decisive force.

She has claimed league titles in both Türkiye and Italy, which are two of the sport’s most competitive arenas, and most notably, three Champions League titles – Europe’s toughest and most prestigious volleyball competition.

In 2022, she left Istanbul powerhouse VakıfBank after three standout seasons to rejoin the Italian league with Imoco Volley Conegliano, where her success only grew.

With these two clubs, Isabelle has also clinched three Women's Club World Championship titles (2021, 2022, 2024) –  and received the Most Valuable Player award each time, a unique achievement in volleyball history.

While her national team career hasn’t reached the same heights, she led Sweden to a historic first win in the European Golden League in 2024.   

6. Johanna Rytting Karneryd – midfield maestro

Awarded the 2024 Diamond Ball (Diamantbollen) as Sweden’s best player, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd has established herself as a key figure for both club and country.

In 2023, she joined English club Chelsea, where she has become the creative engine in midfield, orchestrating play with vision, precision, and relentless energy.

Her ability to link defense and attack was vital in the London side’s treble-winning 2025 season, where the team clinched the Women’s Super League, the Women’s FA Cup title, and the Women’s League Cup. Chelsea finished their domestic season unbeaten.

Known both for her tactical intelligence and technical skills, Johanna is one of the big Swedish names to look out for at Euro 2025. On the international stage, she has been one of the key players Sweden has built its team around.  

7. Ludvig Åberg – superstar in the making?

In June 2023, Ludvig Åberg turned professional, and quickly became the world’s most talked-about young golfer. 

Just 75 days after joining the paid ranks, Ludvig won his first pro tournament at the Omega European Masters in Switzerland. Later at the Ryder Cup, he made history as the first player to feature in the team event without having contested a major championship – and won with Team Europe. 

Then in 2024, in his major debut, Ludvig finished second at the US Masters at Augusta National, Georgia. Following this meteoric rise, he’s been touted as the next superstar of golf.

Since then, Ludvig has struggled somewhat to replicate his form, with a seventh place at the 2025 US Masters as his best result at majors.

But Ludvig is one of the top-ranked young players on tour, and his peers continue to praise both his talent and composure. 

8. Maja Stark – fearless like few

‘Stark’ is the Swedish word for strong – fitting for this rising golfer, whose down-to-earth demeanor belies a competitor tough as nails.

Precision and patience are given in golf. What makes Maja Stark stand out is her aggressive play and her ability to go full throttle when the pressure is on.

These are qualities that have taken her to the top of her sport, most recently at the 2025 U.S. Women's Open, which she won at Erin Hills in Wisconsin. Prior to the win, Maja had six titles to her name on the Ladies European Tour, but a professional victory in the US had eluded her. 

As Sweden’s most recent major championship winner, Maja has taken over the torch in a long line of winners on the women’s side – Liselotte Neumann, Helen Alfredsson, Pernilla Lindberg, Anna Nordqvist and, of course, Annika Sörenstam.

Maja only turned pro in 2021 but already has double appearances in the Solheim Cup. Her first real mark at majors was at the 2024 Chevron Championship where she finished second.

9. Sarah Sjöström – the swimmer winner

Sara Sjöström was only 14 when she won her first international gold medal: the 100-metre butterfly at the 2008 European Championships. But just how great she would become, few could have predicted.  

By now, Sjöström is widely regarded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time.  

Her dominance was most recently on display at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she won both the 50m freestyle and the 100m freestyle. Sjöström now boasts six individual medals from the last three Olympics – three golds, two silvers and one bronze. 

To date, Sjöstrom has also won 15 individual world titles across the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 100m butterfly. The question is when the count will stop for Sjöström.  

There is a Rocky Balboa element to Sjöström’s story. By now, she’s won nearly everything there is to win in swimming, but as a child, in her first-ever competition, she failed miserably by starting with a belly splash. How’s that for rising from a fall?

10. William Nylander – hockey sniper

Aged 19, William Nylander made his NHL debut against the Tampa Bay Lightning, with the Toronto Maple Leafs. That was in 2016.

William has since remained faithful to the Canadian side, and looks set to go down in history as one the truly great servants of the team, having signed a contract extension that keeps him in Toronto until the end of the 2031–2032 season.

He has gradually evolved into a prolific scorer and playmaker for Toronto. His best season to date was the 2023–2024 season, which he opened with a 17-game point streak (goals and assists) – the club record – and went on to rack up 98 points for the season. The season came to a halt when Toronto were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Florida Panthers – the eventual winners.

During the 2024–2025 NHL season, William notched 84 points to solidify his status as a top-tier forward. He shines in one of NHL’s truly classic teams – but some will argue a cursed one. Toronto last won the Stanley Cup in 1967.