We are in one of the lecture theatres at the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH). The white walls are bare; outside, the April weather hints at the coming spring. There is a group of female students on the left-hand side of the room, and on the other side of the aisle, there are twice as many male students. They are roughly halfway through the Sports Management bachelor’s programme, which combines business administration at Södertörn University with sports science at GIH. Their objective is to become the sports leaders of tomorrow, with some of them dreaming of the role of sporting director at top local club Djurgården.
At the front of the room, Susanne Johansson is lecturing on ethical dilemmas and grey areas in sport. Sport is not governed by rules, but by values, she explains. Common ethical grey areas can disguise more serious problems, but they can also cause significant harm in themselves. She illustrates the theory with real-life examples. The first concerns the participation of transgender people in elite competitions. Just a couple of weeks earlier, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided that all elite-level athletes wishing to compete in women’s events must undergo a gender test, a policy “to protect the women’s category in Olympic sports”. She contrasts the IOC’s statement with arguments in favour of inclusion and the fact that the few trans women who have competed in women’s events at the Olympics have not been at the very top fighting for medals. An ethical dilemma.
Despite the complex subject matter, Johansson exudes calm when she speaks, which makes the topic easy to grasp. She says she has had to grow into the role of teacher, unlike many of her colleagues, who have brought teaching skills with them from their background as physical education teachers in schools.
Later, when we settle into armchairs in the corridor outside her office, I begin the interview by highlighting the gender segregation in the classroom. She laughs and explains that it always looks like that, with the female students sitting on one side of the classroom and the male students on the other.
“I have pointed this out to them several times.”
She notes that the gender norms within the world of sport are reproduced in the classroom. Despite awareness of the issue and their expertise, the teaching staff have not yet managed to solve it. Knowing a problem exists is not the same as holding the keys to the solution, a point we will return to later in the interview.
Susanne Johansson made her first foray into elite sport in mixed martial arts (MMA), at a time when few women and girls practised the sport. The lack of competition in her weight class led her to switch sports and eventually move into elite powerlifting. The result of her efforts was a gold medal at the Swedish Championships – and exhaustion. Her attempt at a dual career, combining elite sport with doctoral studies, proved too much and she was forced to choose. She chose research.
“But I still train. I have been a referee for several years and am active in my club. I like keeping one foot in sport.”
Initially, her research focused on highlighting problem areas involving insecurity and vulnerability within sport. Her interest in power structures is something that has remained with her since her days as a sociology student at Stockholm University, while the topic of sexual harassment came up almost by chance.
“I was basically just casting around looking for something that seemed interesting to research. It was probably just something I stumbled across.”
Once her doctoral thesis was complete, the sports movement wondered what they should do to address the problems highlighted by the research, because, after all, knowing a problem exists is not the same as having access to the solutions. Her focus shifted, and now Johansson’s research is more about how sport can change and become safer. One of the challenges is that many still view the work on safe sport as a side issue to sport’s primary purposes: physical activity, training and competing. Another challenge is the widespread culture of silence.
“We know these problems exist, but they very rarely come to light. It is very rare that athletes want to talk about them. And that is one of the biggest problems, because then we cannot do anything about them.”
The problems of sexual abuse in sport are not a matter of a few bad apples and paedophiles, her research suggests.
“Because this has long been, and to a large extent still is, something that is not talked about much in everyday life, it has been driven by high-profile cases in the media. And those tend to be extreme cases.”
When people’s knowledge comes from media cases, they get the impression that if those few bad apples are simply removed from sports, the problems will disappear. In reality, the problem is bigger and has to do with a culture that normalises inappropriate behaviour, Johansson believes. So it is the situation that creates the perpetrators, and that makes the path away from the problems more difficult, as it requires all of us to change.
“It is much easier to throw the bad apples in prison and hope that they never come back than it is for all of us to have to think about how we behave and how we adults can create an environment where, for example, young people feel safe.”
When a leader has behaved badly, the consequences are often black and white, regardless of whether it is a question of breaking the law or merely a moral transgression. Either there are no consequences at all or the person is sacked. Johansson would like to see more alternatives.
“Perhaps you should not coach children, or perhaps you should not work with female athletes, but maybe you don’t need to burn all bridges.”
She says that sports clubs still lack the tools to deal with such transgressions, which is why she has come to focus on grey areas. It is in ethically ambiguous situations, where there is no clear right or wrong, that greater knowledge and support for sport are needed most of all.
Susanne Johansson …
… is 47 years old and lives with her partner in Åkersberga, north of Stockholm. She grew up in Bromma and has a sporting background in riding, MMA and powerlifting. In 2013, she won the gold medal at the Swedish Powerlifting Championships.
Susanne Johansson completed her doctorate in 2017 with a thesis entitled *Sexual Relationships between Athletes and Coaches: Love, Sexual Consent, and Abuse”.
Today she is a senior lecturer in sports science at the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH). In April 2026, she received the Swedish Central Association for the Promotion of Sports’ (SCIF) award for young researchers.
Her research has had a major impact, which she believes is partly because she manages to make her research relatable through everyday examples that everyone can understand and identify with.
“Then again, a lot of it is not down to me at all. It is just that it is an issue that can easily get… or rather, there are two sides to it. It is largely overlooked most of the time, but once it comes to light, it attracts a lot of attention.”
Johansson’s services are frequently sought by sports clubs and associations, and she often appears in the media, something she describes as “a luxury”. But she does the latter reluctantly, she says with a laugh.
“I really do not like it, actually. Being in front of the camera is awful!”
In spite of everything, she accepts media requests, time and time again. She sees it as her responsibility to communicate the knowledge generated by her research. The trust she enjoys within the sports community is due to her own background as an athlete, not on her being a researcher, she says. However, there is a growing demand for evidence-based expertise and knowledge within sport.
“There are more and more people with academic qualifications working in sports, and that is creating a ripple effect.”
Her next research project will focus on the culture of silence surrounding horse welfare in equestrian sports. Previously, she has examined the culture of silence surrounding sexual harassment in equestrian sports, an issue that used to be a hot topic. Now, however, horse welfare is in the spotlight.
“I think it is even easier to see how horses are mistreated, because they are even more powerless. Love of horses is why people take up riding of course, but it is also interesting to see how the culture of silence differs or is similar, depending on whether it concerns the vulnerability of horses or of people.”
Seven years ago, Johansson was commissioned by the Swedish Table Tennis Association to investigate allegations of an unsafe environment within the national team. When the report was completed, opinions were divided both on whether the report should be published and on how the information the research revealed should be used. The matter received significant media attention, and the incident has left a lasting impression on her. Today, she is less inclined to take on similar assignments, and when she does, she ensures she has a clear agreement in place beforehand.
“These are difficult situations. Things can come up that nobody was expecting.”
She feels she has been fortunate compared with the vulnerability some colleagues have had to endure, but in her scrutinising role, highlighting existing problems does not always make her popular.
“It is quite a serious issue if researchers who are doing their job end up in trouble.”
The care and consideration that researchers generally show their participants rarely extends to themselves. Johansson wishes there were a network for researchers in sensitive subjects, a sort of support group.
“We probably need to be better at looking after our own health, our own safety and our own work situation.”
The conversation flows easily and casually about sports and work, but when I ask questions about other parts of her life, she is immediately less comfortable. She explains briefly that she grew up in the Stockholm suburb of Bromma, but now lives north of Stockholm with her partner. And she has no children.
“I don’t think I would have been able to do this research if I had children of my own.”
If she had had children, she would have been “constantly terrified”, she says after I ask her to elaborate on her comment.
“As a parent, I think it would be harder. You can relate to things. You are afraid that they might happen to your own child.”
For relaxation, as well as sport and exercise, she plays video games and enjoys cooking. But she tries not to take everything too seriously. The burnout she experienced during her doctoral studies taught her to be “good enough”.
“If I strive too much for perfection, or to perform at the highest level, it stops being fun. I try to steer away from things being anxiety-driven and towards them being more enjoyable and playful.”
Grey areas
Serious sexual abuse is relatively rare in sport, but all kinds of misconduct can damage trust in the sports movement.
Susanne Johansson’s research on grey areas concerns the boundary between sexual abuse and lawful sexual relationships. This may, for example, involve relationships between athletes and coaches, where consent is influenced by professional interests.
When the boundaries are unclear, the situations that arise can be more difficult for sports clubs to address, as they are often small and run by volunteers.
