Status: 2004 Olympic gold medalist in the heptathlon. Three-time world champion in heptathlon. Currently competes in long jump and triple jump.

Ht: 5-10 Wt: 140

DOB: February 2, 1983 In: Sandhult, Sweden

Track Heroes/Inspirations: “I really didn’t have anyone special. I didn’t have like an idol that I put pictures on the wall. I guess I looked up to a lot of different people but it wasn’t sport people usually. The three most important inspirations are of course the joy, the fun, to have fun on the track. And to always do my best, to see how far I can get with what I have. And the last one is to learn a lot, about life and about sport and about myself.”

First Track Memory: “When we were kids I didn’t go to train track and field, I was just trying it at the school. I was maybe ten-years-old. That was probably the first memory from myself doing, I believe it was probably 60 meters and maybe long jump.”

Favorite Movies: “Oh, I have a lot of different favorites. This favorites question is my absolute difficult things to give an answer to. That’s why I chose the heptathlon, because I like to do a lot of different things [smiles]. And that’s the same with movies, books, whatever.”

Last Book Read: “It was a Swedish book about criminal gangs in Sweden.”

Musical Tastes: “I have some Swedish you wouldn’t know. But I like American music, just the music they play on the radio.”

First Job: “I cleaned airplanes (age 16).”

First Car: “That was a Nissan (green).”

Current Car: “Toyota Prius (silver).”

Favorite Meal: “My mother’s cooking of course. Then I love Indian food as well.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “I think I would go with strawberry.”

Pre-Competition Feeling: “I try not to think so much at all. I try just to get in the flow where everything is just fun and I feel comfortable. And I like to listen to music to pump me up. And just being in the flow and not thinking too much. (What kind of music?) Could be different, could be like soundtrack from the movie Gladiator. Could be just calm, powerful song or it could be good rhythm. Depends on what kind of mood I’m in.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “I have some greatest moments but probably the Olympic gold in Athens is probably one of the highlights.”

Most Painful Moment: “Helsinki. It was really hard competition for me. I was in great shape and the day before I twisted my ankle and had to compete with twisted ankle. Just the pain of that and also the pain of being thrown between hope and failure and believing in yourself and not believing in yourself. And the pressure from everybody outside. It was my first meet after the Olympic Games, where I won the European and then the World and then the Olympics. Then I went to the World Championships in Helsinki and everyone expected gold and then I twisted my ankle and it was just mentally the toughest competition ever (2005).”

Favorite Athletes To Watch: “Whenever you see a Swedish track athlete it’s fun to watch. Everything from skiing to ice hockey to soccer. It depends. If you have any Swedes there you want to cheer for them. My husband is a hockey coach so ice hockey is a lot on our TV at home.”

Favorite Sports To Watch Outside Track: “No, I cannot say I have a favorite like that. I like to watch different sports. I’m not that so interested that I follow every result of games and teams. I’m not so sporty. More amateur sports interested. I don’t play tennis now but I think that’s the sport I will do when I quit.”

Last Vacation: “I went to Kenya last fall.”

Embarrassing Career Memory: “I don’t know. I guess I’m doing embarrassing things all the time but that’s part of being yourself and not being like everybody always wants you to.”

Funny Career Memory: “Yes but I can’t think of right now.”

Favorite Places To Compete: “Stockholm is always fun in the summer. Because it’s on the home track and it’s a nice stadium with the old Olympic stadium in Stockholm.”

Childhood Dream: “Ooooh, it changed from day to day [smiles]. One day it could be singer and then a soccer player and then inventor. And then I wanted to be a pilot and then I wanted to be a police. It changed every day. I didn’t ever have one dream. I changed it because one day I fell for something and then the other for something else [smiles].”

Memorable Fan Encounter: “It’s hard to pick one out. The best fans are the kids. Because they say what they feel. Exactly what they feel. They never lie to you [smiles]. They’re very, very honest, even if they have a critical thing to say. It’s always good to hear it because you know it came from their heart. A fun thing was I was in a school one time with small kids. And the teacher picked me in but he didn’t introduce me. And I started to talk. And I didn’t think about it and I talked and talked maybe for 20 minutes with these small kids. And then I said, Now you can ask your questions if you have a question. And there was this one little boy sitting in the middle and he raised his hand so high up. And I said, Well, what is your question? And he said, What’s your name [smiles]? And after that I learned to always introduce myself and to do a proper presentation.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “When people are following their heart and really are themselves and doing their own thing.”