Ingemar Stenmark
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox alpine ski racer
Jan Ingemar Stenmark ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; born 18 March 1956) is a Swedish former World Cup alpine ski racer. He is regarded as a legendary skier and one of the most prominent Swedish athletes ever,<ref name=issfwdn>Template:Cite news</ref> having won several Olympic medals and world cups during his career. When he retired in 1989, he held the record for the greatest number of international race wins, a record that was only broken in 2023 by Mikaela Shiffrin and remains unbroken amongst men. He competed for Tärna IK Fjällvinden.
BiographyEdit
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Born in Joesjö, Storuman Municipality, Lapland, Stenmark and his family moved to Tärnaby near Norway when he was four years old. He became a childhood neighbour of Stig Strand (also born 1956), who tied Stenmark for the World Cup slalom title in 1983. Stenmark began skiing at the age of five and won his first national competition at age eight.
Competitive recordEdit
Stenmark made his World Cup debut in December 1973 at age 17. At the time of his retirement, he had won more international races than any other alpine skier to date: he took 86 World Cup wins (46 giant slaloms and 40 slaloms). He has since been passed by Mikaela Shiffrin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Stenmark won only in the two technical disciplines: slalom and giant slalom (the other events are downhill, super-G, first run in December 1982, and combined). He prioritized these disciplines over the high-speed downhill events, preferring to master the intricacies of skiing technique. His trainer, Hermann Nogler, once observed, "I watched him. He was always trying to find a better way, a smoother way, a faster way through the gates."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He rarely competed in the other disciplines, as he was not comfortable with speeds in excess of Template:Convert. He won first place overall in the 1976 World Cup, becoming the first Scandinavian to do so, his first of three straight World Cup titles (1976–78). Stenmark still holds the record for the biggest win margin in a World Cup alpine race: 4.06 seconds ahead of 2nd placed Bojan Križaj in Jasna on 4 February 1979.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Stenmark was known as a quiet champion, with short, but polite, responses to media questions.<ref name=issfwdn/><ref name=wthcoc>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=stathon>Template:Cite news</ref>
For his three straight World Cup titles (1976–78), Stenmark earned the Holmenkollen medal in 1979 (shared with Erik Håker and Raisa Smetanina). Stenmark also earned the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal twice (1975, 1978). His 1978 medal was shared with tennis player Björn Borg, making them the only two men to ever win the honor twice (female alpine skier Anja Pärson received the medal in 2006 and 2007). Additionally, Stenmark stands alone as the only male skier to win eight World Cup titles in a single discipline – both in slalom and giant slalom.
At the World Championships in 1978 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen West Germany, Stenmark won the slalom by two-thirds of a second and the giant slalom by over two seconds,<ref name=wthcoc/> and successfully defended both world titles at the Winter Olympics in 1980 at Lake Placid, which also were counted as world championships. At the next worlds in 1982 in Austria, he had a sub-standard first run in the giant slalom and was upset by American Steve Mahre and settled for silver.<ref name=stvmah>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=stepsh>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=omtfa>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Stenmark rebounded in the slalom and became the first to win the same title in three consecutive world championships.<ref name=tntkgl>Template:Cite news</ref> At age 25, it was his final medal in a major competition.
Stenmark's exploits led to him being described as the "slalom king" meaning that when he was not allowed to participate in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo by the International Ski Federation (FIS) for accepting promotional payments directly, rather than through the national ski federation, it was a major blow to the Swedish team's medal hopes.<ref name=rulinelg>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hanni Wenzel of Liechtenstein was also banned; both were double gold medalists in 1980.<ref name=ssbfol>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=rssten>Template:Cite news</ref> Marc Girardelli, who was the best slalom racer during the 1983–84 season, was also banned for other reasons.<ref name=wowotth>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref> Stenmark returned to Olympic competition in 1988 but was past his prime and did not medal despite achieving the fastest second run of the slalom competition.<ref name=stathon/><ref name=sgctcm>Template:Cite news</ref>
He retired from World Cup competition at the end of the 1989 season in March, days before his 33rd birthday.<ref name="skstret">Template:Cite news</ref> At the time, he held the record for World Cup race wins, a record which held until 2023 when it was broken by Mikaela Shiffrin.<ref>https://olympics.com/en/video/ingemar-stenmark-predicts-mikaela-shiffrin-will-win-more-than-100-races</ref>
OtherEdit
During the years from 1976 to 1978 Stenmark, along with tennis player Björn Borg, became a national icon in Sweden.<ref name=issfwdn/> This was not changed by the fact that he moved to Monaco in 1980 for tax reasons.<ref name=stathon/><ref name=rulinelg/> At age 40, he won the Swedish Superstars championship in 1996.<ref name=sprstrs>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On 26 December 2004, Stenmark survived the Indian Ocean earthquake while on vacation in Thailand. In 2015, he was a celebrity dancer on the Let's Dance 2015, where he teamed up with professional dancer Cecilia Ehrling.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
He serves as an ambassador for the Börje Salming ALS Foundation, named after his close friend and Swedish ice hockey player who died of ALS in 2022.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2024, at the age of 68, Stenmark participated in the World Masters Athletic Championship where he jumped three meters and placed eighth overall.<ref>https://www.olympics.com/en/news/ingemar-stenmark-switches-skis-pole-vault-aged-68</ref>
PersonalEdit
Stenmark was married to Ann Uvhagen, a Lufthansa airline hostess, 1984–1987.<ref name=stathon/><ref name=stenmars>Template:Cite news</ref> They have a child, born 1984.<ref name=funagn>Template:Cite news</ref>
World Cup resultsEdit
Season titlesEdit
- 19 titles – (3 overall, 8 GS,<ref>In 1977 ex-aqueo with the Swiss Heini Hemmi and in 1984 with the other Swiss Pirmin Zurbriggen.</ref> 8 SL)
| Overall | Slalom | Giant slalom |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 1977 1978 |
1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1983 |
1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1984 |
| 3 | 8 | 8 |
Season standingsEdit
| Season | Age | Overall | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 17 | 12 | 6 | — | not run |
— | not awarded |
| 1975 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | ||
| 1976 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | |
| 1977 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | not awarded | |
| 1978 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | ||
| 1979 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 1 | — | ||
| 1980 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — | |
| 1981 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 15 | |
| 1982 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | |
| 1983 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 2 | not awarded (w/ GS) |
— | 23 |
| 1984 | 27 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | |
| 1985 | 28 | 6 | 3 | 10 | — | 25 | |
| 1986 | 29 | 5 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 1987 | 30 | 6 | 2 | 7 | — | — | — |
| 1988 | 31 | 21 | 16 | 9 | — | — | — |
| 1989 | 32 | 17 | 21 | 4 | — | — | — |
Race victoriesEdit
86 wins – (46 GS, 40 SL), 155 podiums
| Season | Date | Location | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 17 December 1974 | Template:Flagicon Madonna di Campiglio, Italy | Slalom |
| 12 January 1975 | Template:Flagicon Wengen, Switzerland | Slalom | |
| 21 February 1975 | Template:Flagicon Naeba, Japan | Giant slalom | |
| 2 March 1975 | Template:Flagicon Garibaldi (Whistler), Canada | Giant slalom | |
| 13 March 1975 | Template:Flagicon Sun Valley, USA | Giant slalom | |
| 1976 | 15 December 1975 | Template:Flagicon Sterzing / Vipiteno, Italy | Slalom |
| 11 January 1976 | Template:Flagicon Wengen, Switzerland | Slalom | |
| 24 January 1976 | Template:Flagicon Kitzbühel, Austria | Slalom | |
| 27 January 1976 | Template:Flagicon Zwiesel, West Germany | Giant slalom | |
| 7 March 1976 | Template:Flagicon Copper Mountain, USA | Slalom | |
| 14 March 1976 | Template:Flagicon Aspen, USA | Slalom | |
| 1977 | 3 January 1977 | Template:Flagicon Laax, Switzerland | Slalom |
| 10 January 1977 | Template:Flagicon Berchtesgaden, W. Germany | Slalom | |
| 16 January 1977 | Template:Flagicon Kitzbühel, Austria | Slalom | |
| 23 January 1977 | Template:Flagicon Wengen, Switzerland | Slalom | |
| 6 February 1977 | Template:Flagicon St. Anton, Austria | Slalom | |
| 6 March 1977 | Template:Flagicon Sun Valley, USA | Giant slalom | |
| 18 March 1977 | Template:Flagicon Voss, Norway | Slalom | |
| 20 March 1977 | Template:Flagicon Åre, Sweden | Slalom | |
| 21 March 1977 | Giant slalom | ||
| 25 March 1977 | Template:Flagicon Sierra Nevada, Spain | Giant slalom | |
| 1978 | 10 December 1977 | Template:Flagicon Val d'Isère, France | Giant slalom |
| 13 December 1977 | Template:Flagicon Madonna di Campiglio, Italy | Slalom | |
| 14 December 1977 | Giant slalom | ||
| 5 January 1978 | Template:Flagicon Oberstaufen, West Germany | Slalom | |
| 8 January 1978 | Template:Flagicon Zwiesel, West Germany | Giant slalom | |
| 9 January 1978 | Slalom | ||
| 18 March 1978 | Template:Flagicon Arosa, Switzerland | Giant slalom | |
| 1979 | 9 December 1978 | Template:Flagicon Schladming, Austria | Giant slalom |
| 21 December 1978 | Template:Flagicon Kranjska Gora, Yugoslavia | Slalom | |
| 22 December 1978 | Giant slalom | ||
| 7 January 1979 | Template:Flagicon Courchevel, France | Giant slalom | |
| 16 January 1979 | Template:Flagicon Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant slalom | |
| 23 January 1979 | Template:Flagicon Steinach, Austria | Giant slalom | |
| 4 February 1979 | Template:Flagicon Jasná, Czechoslovakia | Giant slalom | |
| 10 February 1979 | Template:Flagicon Åre, Sweden | Giant slalom | |
| 11 February 1979 | Slalom | ||
| 4 March 1979 | Template:Flagicon Lake Placid, USA | Giant slalom | |
| 12 March 1979 | Template:Flagicon Heavenly Valley, USA | Giant slalom | |
| 17 March 1979 | Template:Flagicon Furano, Japan | Slalom | |
| 19 March 1979 | Giant slalom | ||
| 1980 | 8 December 1979 | Template:Flagicon Val d'Isère, France | Giant slalom |
| 11 December 1979 | Template:Flagicon Madonna di Campiglio, Italy | Slalom | |
| 12 December 1979 | Giant slalom | ||
| 21 January 1980 | Template:Flagicon Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant slalom | |
| 27 January 1980 | Template:Flagicon Chamonix, France | Slalom | |
| 27 February 1980 | Template:Flagicon Waterville Valley, USA | Slalom | |
| 1 March 1980 | Template:Flagicon Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada | Giant slalom | |
| 10 March 1980 | Template:Flagicon Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy | Slalom | |
| 11 March 1980 | Giant slalom | ||
| 13 March 1980 | Template:Flagicon Saalbach, Austria | Giant slalom | |
| 15 March 1980 | Slalom | ||
| 1981 | 9 December 1980 | Template:Flagicon Madonna di Campiglio, Italy | Slalom |
| 10 December 1980 | Giant slalom | ||
| 6 January 1981 | Template:Flagicon Morzine, France | Giant slalom | |
| 18 January 1981 | Template:Flagicon Kitzbühel, Austria | Slalom | |
| 26 January 1981 | Template:Flagicon Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant slalom | |
| 1 February 1981 | Template:Flagicon St. Anton, Austria | Slalom | |
| 2 February 1981 | Template:Flagicon Schladming, Austria | Giant slalom | |
| 8 February 1981 | Template:Flagicon Oslo, Norway | Slalom | |
| 11 February 1981 | Template:Flagicon Voss, Norway | Giant slalom | |
| 14 February 1981 | Template:Flagicon Åre, Sweden | Giant slalom | |
| 1982 | 9 January 1982 | Template:Flagicon Morzine, France | Giant slalom |
| 12 January 1982 | Template:Flagicon Bad Wiessee, West Germany | Slalom | |
| 17 January 1982 | Template:Flagicon Kitzbühel, Austria | Slalom | |
| 19 January 1982 | Template:Flagicon Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant slalom | |
| 9 February 1982 | Template:Flagicon Kirchberg, Austria | Giant slalom | |
| 1983 | 14 December 1982 | Template:Flagicon Courmayeur, Italy | Slalom |
| 23 January 1983 | Template:Flagicon Kitzbühel, Austria | Slalom | |
| 11 February 1983 | Template:Flagicon Markstein, France | Slalom | |
| 13 February 1983 | Template:Flagicon Todtnau, West Germany | Giant slalom | |
| 26 February 1983 | Template:Flagicon Gällivare, Sweden | Giant slalom | |
| 1984 | 13 December 1983 | Template:Flagicon Courmayeur, Italy | Slalom |
| 20 December 1983 | Template:Flagicon Madonna di Campiglio, Italy | Slalom | |
| 10 January 1984 | Template:Flagicon Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant slalom | |
| 17 January 1984 | Template:Flagicon Parpan, Switzerland | Slalom | |
| 23 January 1984 | Template:Flagicon Kirchberg, Austria | Giant slalom | |
| 4 February 1984 | Template:Flagicon Borovetz, Bulgaria | Giant slalom | |
| 7 March 1984 | Template:Flagicon Vail, USA | Giant slalom | |
| 1986 | 15 December 1985 | Template:Flagicon Alta Badia, Italy | Giant slalom |
| 25 January 1986 | Template:Flagicon St. Anton, Austria | Slalom | |
| 27 February 1986 | Template:Flagicon Hemsedal, Norway | Giant slalom | |
| 18 March 1986 | Template:Flagicon Lake Placid, USA | Giant slalom | |
| 1987 | 29 November 1986 | Template:Flagicon Sestriere, Italy | Slalom |
| 14 February 1987 | Template:Flagicon Markstein, France | Slalom | |
| 1989 | 19 February 1989 | Template:Flagicon Aspen, USA | Giant slalom |
PodiumsEdit
| Discipline | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slalom | 40 | 29 | 12 | 81 |
| Giant | 46 | 13 | 13 | 72 |
| Parallel | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Combined | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 86 | 43 | 26 | 155 |
World championship resultsEdit
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 17 | DNF | 9 | not run | — | — |
| 1976 | 19 | DNF2 | 3 | — | — | |
| 1978 | 21 | 1 | 1 | — | — | |
| 1980 | 23 | 1 | 1 | — | — | |
| 1982 | 25 | 1 | 2 | — | — | |
| 1985 | 28 | 4 | DNF | — | — | |
| 1987 | 30 | 5 | 10 | — | — | — |
| 1989 | 32 | DNF2 | 6 | — | — | — |
From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing.
At the World Championships from 1954 through 1980, the combined was a "paper race" using the results of the three events (DH, GS, SL).
Olympic resultsEdit
| Year | Age | Slalom | Giant slalom |
Super-G | Downhill | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 19 | DNF2 | 3 | not run | — | not run |
| 1980 | 23 | 1 | 1 | — | ||
| 1984 | 27 | Banned | ||||
| 1988 | 31 | 5 | DNF2 | — | — | — |
- Stenmark and fellow reigning double Olympic champion Hanni Wenzel were banned from the 1984 Olympics for having accepted promotional payments directly, rather than through their national ski federations.
Other honoursEdit
- Jerring Award: 1979, 1980<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- H. M. The King's Medal: 1978<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>