f
Prima
diva
Story by
Sam McKewon
Photos by
Sandy Summers
Alshammar
leads life
by own code
Know this about Therese
Alshammar before anything
1^. else: She loves eye contact. It
might not even be a love. It seems like an
obsession.
She says she doesn’t know she’s doing it.
But sit down and talk with the Nebraska
swimmer, and first thing you'll notice is a
double-barreled, gray-eyed shotgun of a
stare
Yes, you have her attention - which
makes sense: Alshammar is game for any
conversation where the primary focus is her.
She loves talking about herself. And she
doesn’t have any problem saying so, either.
But don't look away or shift your gaze.
Her eyes will follow you, because she wants
to know exactly what’s behind yours.
“The eyes bring out the best in people -
or the worst,” Alshammar said. “You see
what people are and how they are. You see
what they think.
“Your eyes are the windows to your soul.
I was brought up that way. I was bom with it.”
Alshammar has no problem baring her
soul or offering an opinion on just about any
thing. That’s the other thing about her: She’s
direct - about herself, about her swimming
and about those around her. So much so, it
borders on pure bluntness.
Of course, it’s about what you’d expect
from someone who was named Sweden’s
Sexiest Woman.
W course Fm sexy*
Alshammar loves to be noticed, she said.
She goes out of her way to be seen. And it’s
hard not to in Lincoln. She’s dyed her hair six
different colors. She wears short, tight-fit
ting clothes. One pair of her shoes (out of
many) resembles moon boots.
It was her irreverent style and attitude -
along with her swimming ability - that got
her noticed by the Stockholm, Sweden
based Cafe Magazine - and launched her
straight into celebrity status.
Cafe, said Managing Editor Mikael
Svensson, is Scandinavia’s leading men’s
magazine - the Swedish equivalent to
America’s GQ Magazine. Except the women
wear fewer clothes - a lot fewer.
For six years, Cafe has given out the
award to the “Severiges 69 Seixgaste” - the
69 sexiest women in Sweden, a list that
changes every year. In May 1998,
Alshammar was the sexiest on that list.
“We’re looking for someone that’s a little
more than just some blond model with big
breasts,” Svensson said. “Who cares about
her?
“We want somebody who’s got an atti
tude and style. We want somebody who’s not
afraid. Therese is that, and she’s a great
swimmer, too. She’s from Sweden, but she’s
got a U.S. state of mind.”
Attitude and style are things Alshammar
isn’t short on, which are rarities in Sweden,
where both Svensson and Alshammar said
standing out is looked down upon. It’s better
to blend in with the other 8,541,000 inhabi
tants.
“You’re not supposed to say you’re good
at anything over there,” Alshammar said. “In
Sweden, if someone says you look good,
you’re supposed to say, ‘Oh no, you really
think so? Oh, I don’t think so.’ It’s an unwrit
ten law.
“When they tell me that, I say, ‘Thank
you!”’
Svensson recalls a similar response the
first time he talked with Alshammar.
“We said we were considering her for the
award,” Svensson said. “And Therese said,
‘Of course I’m sexy. I’ve known that all
along.’”
Celebrity status
What Alshammar didn’t know was just
how big the award was to win. Cafe debates
the winner for weeks with a jury of writers,
celebrities and other notables. Local televi
sion stations tap members of the jury for pos
sible leaks.
When Alshammar won the title as
Sweden’s Sexiest, she was in Lincoln. And to
hear Alshammar tell the story, finding out
wasn’t a big deal.
“They call me and tell me, ‘You’ve won!
You’re Sweden’s Sexiest Woman!’”
Alshammar said. “‘What do you have to
say?’
“‘Good.’
"‘No!’ they say to me. ‘You have to say
something more emotional than that! Give
us something else.’
“‘OK. Great.’”
When Alshammar went back to Sweden
that summer, she was greeted with a day’s
worth of interviews and her picture on about
every newspaper in Sweden. Alshammar
was, and continues to be, a celebrity in her
Please see DIVA on 15
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Page 13
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weight earlier and watch their diets more
closely in the offseason.
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Farmer Paul
After growing up on a farm in North
Carolina, Paul Sanderford is ready to take the
Nebraska women’s basketball team to the
Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
Page 14