Anja Sofia Tess Pärson (Umeå, April 25, 1981) is a Swedish former alpine skier Olympic gold medalist, seven-time gold medalist at the World Championships, and two-time overall Alpine Ski World Cup champion (2004, and 2005 -in 2005 Pärson won the Alpine Ski World Cup overall title by the smallest margin ever, only 3 points over Janica Kostelić).
She won her first two medals in the Alpine World Ski Championships in 2001, a gold in Slalom and a bronze in Giant Slalom.
Two years later, in St. Moritz, in 2003 Pärson added a new gold medal, this time in Giant Slalom.
In 2005, in Bormio, the Swedish skier won three medals, two golds in Super-G and Giant Slalom, and a silver in the Combined. Bormio was the last World Championships to use the traditional Combined format of one Downhill run and two Slalom runs.
The 39th FIS Alpine World Ski Championships took place in Åre, Sweden in 2007. These championships introduced the "Super-Combined" format, featuring one run each of Downhill and Slalom. After winning her first and only Olympic gold medal in the Slalom event in the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Anja Pärson achieved a historic feat at the Championships by winning three gold medals in the Super-G, Super-Combined, and Downhill events, making her the first skier ever to claim World Championship golds in all five disciplines.
The Swedish skier also won a bronze medal in Slalom. She added a fifth medal, a silver in the Team Event. This competition was part of the World Championships for the second time.
After being left out of the medals in Val d'Isère in 2009, Parson achieved her last two medals in the Alpine World Ski Championships held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 2011, two bronzes in the Combined and the Team Event.
On 12 March 2012, Pärson officially announced her retirement.
Olympic Winter Games Starts: 12
Olympic Winter Games Medals: 6
Olympic Winter Games Victories: 1
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Starts: 25
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Podiums: 11
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Victories: 7
FIS World Cup Starts: 381
FIS World Cup Podiums: 95
FIS World Cup Victories: 42
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