A Road Less Traveled to the Stifel U.S. Ski Team

Stello Johanson: Photo GEPA

Stella Johansson is the first to describe her path to the Stifel U.S. Ski Team as “a road less traveled.”

Unlike most rookies, the 20-year-old Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club alumna skipped over the national development squad and was nominated directly to the 2023-24 Stifel U.S. C Team.

“I think the fact that I’m in Europe contributes to that,” said Johansson in a July phone interview from her family’s multi-generational home in northern Sweden.

After graduating from Aspen High School, Johansson was recruited to Dartmouth but deferred. Instead, she and her family moved to Alta Badia, Italy, so that she could take her ski racing to the next level.

“I’ve noticed since being out here that the competition pool is a lot deeper. All of these girls go out and fight on the Europa Cup. They’re so prepared. It’s difficult to break in. I’ve been going at this alone for a long time. I’m very happy to have the support of the U.S. Ski Team,” she said.

Early days

Johansson was born in Connecticut and grew up in a household of alpine racers, taking her first turns at Mohawk Mountain. Her father, Per Johansson, raced for the Swedish national team and the University of Utah. Johansson’s mother, Margeaux, was a Connecticut State giant slalom champion. Her older sister, Isabella, and younger sister, Annika, are also avid skiers. The family moved to Aspen when Stella was in sixth grade. While attending public school, she quickly gained momentum racing for the Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club under the tutelage of coaches Casey Puckett and Jaka Korencan.

The goal of moving to Italy two days after her high school graduation was “to be a European-style World Cup racer and to live and prepare like the best in the world, year-round,” she said.

Coached by former Slovenian World Cup winner Mitja Kunc, Johansson hit major milestones last season.

Skyrocketing up the ranks

Starting in the Europa Cups during the 2021-22 season, Johansson struggled to maintain her speed and technique throughout an entire course. She finally crossed the finish line in a couple of giant slaloms toward the end of that season, finishing in the mid-30s, but considerably better than her bib number.

In a stunning start to the 2022-23 Europa Cup season, Johansson earned her spot for the weather-canceled World Cup GS opener in Sölden, Austria. With no prior EC points, she amazed everyone by reaching the podium, claiming an impressive second place in November’s Europa Cup GS in Mayrhofen, Austria, finishing just +0.15 seconds behind the winner. While she has not matched that historic result, she believes it is the best of any U.S. woman in GS on the Europa Cup since 2006. She landed 10^th place a couple of weeks later and hit solid finishes throughout the season. Focusing primarily on GS, despite fighting a severe illness (mono) that struck mid-season, she finished 17^th in the season’s EC GS standings, “the third-best result for U.S. women ever.”

“From January through April, my energy levels were lower. It felt like I couldn’t push to my full ability,” she said. “I wasn’t able to ski at the level I wanted to. But I gained a lot of good experience from last season. I really think I could have had the opportunity to be consistent and at the top of the European Cup. I want to see that come to fruition this season.”

Lessons learned

Although not in Sölden, Johansson did get a full taste of the World Cup scene last season, competing in seven World Cup GS races. While she has yet to qualify for a second run, she has built confidence in her ability to charge through changing course and weather conditions with a late start number. It also gave her the hunger and determination to fight at the top level again this season.

“Even if you’re doing great in the European Cup, in the World Cup, you’re starting in the back again. At my first World Cup in Sestriere this past winter, the snow conditions were insane. It was so bumpy. There were girls all around me who couldn’t make it down the course. My goal was just to make it down. I did. After that, none of the races I did felt bumpy to me at all. You have to learn to take advantage of the opportunities that you have. Every single time you race in the European Cup or World Cup, you have to give it 110 percent.”

A U.S. Team, Europe-based hybrid plan

While Johansson plans to continue to train in Europe – including during her family holiday in rural Sweden this summer, where she still makes time for two vigorous dryland sessions every day – she is looking forward to the camaraderie and support when she joins the U.S. Team once on-snow training and camps begin overseas this fall.

“As far as what I’m most looking forward to with the U.S. Team, I’d say the community,” she said. “That’s something that originally drew me into the sport, having people around me that I really like, who like skiing as well. I think all the girls on the team are amazing and driven. Being in that environment is really positive and will impact my skiing in a positive way.

The human side

When Johansson isn’t hyper-focused on skiing or dryland training, she enjoys video games, coding, cooking, dining, fishing, hiking, and the outdoors. Fluent in Swedish and learning Italian and Japanese, Johansson is interested in finance and banking and is pursuing a 40-week remote software engineering program with the Flatiron School.    

As for race heroes, Johansson grew up admiring Lindsey Vonn and Anja Paerson: “I thought it was funny when she’d do the belly slide.” Of the many elite international skiers she’s had the chance to train with over her last couple of years in Europe, Mikaela Shiffrin is a standout and someone whose trajectory Johansson would like to follow.

“For a model, obviously the person to say is Mikaela Shiffrin. She’s had such an amazing career and amazing consistency,” she said. “Being able to tap into that even a little bit would drastically improve my skiing and my results. It just takes a lot of focus and determination. I’ve seen all of those qualities in her. It’s been very eye-opening to see how she prepares differently from other people. I know I will be able to get there.”