Andreas Almgren’s victory in the New York Marathon on November 1 will count toward Sweden’s Sports Gala awards despite arriving one day after the nomination deadline, Dagens Nyheter reported. The Swedish Sports Academy will include both Almgren’s win and curler Isabella Wranå’s team in its nominations, according to SVT Sport and Sportbladet. The exception applies because the performances occurred after the federation deadline but before the jury’s nomination meeting on Thursday evening. The jury that holds that meeting decides who receives prizes in several categories at the Idrottsgalan in January. Almgren’s win makes him one of the favorites for male athlete of the year and performance of the year at the January gala, as well as for the Bragdguldet awarded in early December by Svenska Dagbladet. Counting the New York victory lowers the odds of his also taking the performance of the year category.
New York Win Counts Despite Missed Deadline
The marathon victory arrived one day after sports federations had to submit nominations to the Idrottsakademin, Aftonbladet reported. Because the jury held its nomination meeting Thursday evening, the rules allow the late performance to be counted. Almgren covered the 42 kilometers at an average speed of 20.1 kilometers per hour.
The same exception applies to lag Isabella Wranå, which won gold at the curling European Championships on November 1, Sportbladet reported via Aftonbladet. Wranå also holds Olympic gold in mixed doubles with her brother Rasmus.
From Stockholm to New York: The 2026 Season
Almgren’s season already included gold at the European Championships over 10,000 meters and at the World Championships in the half marathon before he won in New York. He was already a favorite for male athlete of the year before the New York victory based on those titles. Sveriges Radio reported that Almgren’s mental coach, psychologist Thomas Nilsson of Visby, identifies patience, clear goals and discipline as the foundations for reaching training results at the elite level. Nilsson offers four tips for regular exercisers; the first concerns patience and setting clear goals, and one of his most important tips has nothing to do with the effort itself.
Olympic Marathon Set for Venice Beach in 2028
Almgren next targets the Olympic marathon on Sunday, July 30, 2028, when he will line up on the beachfront promenade at Venice Beach.