Persson won the sprint battle over Norwegians Andreas Nygaard, Kasper Stadaas, Petter Stakston and Johan Hoel.
His first feeling after the finish line was not bubbling joy but relief.
– Relief, that I finally get to take this one. This is what I dreamed about all summer and autumn, says Persson.
Emil Persson came second last year, only beaten by Andreas Nygaard. This year the result was the opposite.
–Emil was super strong; he has been all year and he deserved the victory, says the Norwegian to SVT.
Before the Vasaloppet, Emil Persson had won eight of nine races in the Ski Classic long-distance cup.
The last Swedish winner in the Vasaloppet was Jörgen Brink. Since then, there have been ten Norwegian winners in a row.
On the women's side, it was Emilie Fleten from Norway who won after coming third in Tjejvasan.