The 60-year-old Kristiansen has previously coached Marit Bjørgen in the Norwegian women's national team, among others, and has coached the successful Norwegian men's biathlon team for the past ten years.
He now replaces Anders Högberg as the men's coach of the Swedish national cross-country team, and will work side by side with Lars Ljung.
"We think he fits that role perfectly. There has been quite stiff competition for Egil from many other nations in both biathlon and cross-country skiing," says cross-country skiing manager Lars Öberg at a press conference.
The announcement confirmed a recruitment that the Swedish Ski Association had already made on Tuesday - when Egil Kristiansen appeared in a picture as the national team's latest sponsorship collaboration was presented.
"Yes, it was great fun to watch. Maybe it was deliberate, who knows?" Lars Öberg jokes.
No, but good advertising is always good advertising. The interest in this press conference got a positive boost from it.
On the women's side, the coaching duo will continue to be Ida Ingemarsdotter and Johan Granath.
Meanwhile, work continues to find a new national team manager to replace Anders Byström, who stepped down after a turbulent time earlier this year. According to Lars Öberg, an announcement will be made shortly.
"We're almost there. We've had surprisingly high competition, but I'm confident that we've got the one we had at the top of the list," he says.
We can't reveal the name today, but we have overcome all the major obstacles.
