PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Ingemar Stenmark is one of the absolute best in Swedish sports.
Now the big secret with wife Tarja Stenmark is revealed.
– I didn’t understand why, but it was probably for some reason, admits “Stenis” in the new documentary about himself.
Few, if any, can measure up Ingemar Stenmarks immensely popular with the Swedish people. The legend is one of Swedish sports’ greatest of all time and a true hero out in the cabins around the country.
Steni’s career
He became “Stenis” with the entire Swedish people during such a successful career in the 70s and 80s. The slalom king won 2 Olympic golds, 5 World Cup golds and won a whopping 86 World Cup races, to this day it is the record for the most races won.
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These days, the 66-year-old has been very current with the new documentary film “The Story of Stenmark” on TV4, where he can talk openly about his career and life in the spotlight. The skiing icon also reveals a secret that the Swedes have not known about him – namely how Ingemar and his wife Tarja Stenmark were met.
READ MORE: Ingemar Stenmark’s daughter Iza, 15, reveals the strong words about her father – is tired: “I don’t think that…”
The secret
In the documentary, the 10-year-younger Tarja admits how it all started already when she was 15 years old.
– He was my teenage idol. My entire girl’s room was wallpapered with Ingemar Stenmark posters and clippings from weekly newspapers. He was really my big idol. I was probably in love with him, quite simply, she says in TV4.
– I ran after him then in my teens. Then he had to run after me in adulthood. So we probably have 1-1 there.
– I probably had to chase her quite a bit before she snapped, admits Ingemar with a smile.
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In 2016, Ingemar and Tarja Stenmark got married and today they have a daughter Iza Stenmark, 15 years. But for a long time the couple kept their relationship a secret and did not want to be seen in public side by side.
– There was probably quite a lot of stealth at the beginning. I didn’t want to appear in public with him, says Tarja in the documentary.
– In the beginning I had to go ahead of her, she went a few steps behind. I didn’t understand why, but it was probably for some reason that she didn’t want to be seen, says Ingemar about the first time together.
READ MORE: Ingemar Stenmark’s brutally honest words – reveals his dark thoughts: “I wouldn’t want to relive my life”
“Are you ashamed?”
The secrecy went so far that “Stenis” finally had to ask the decisive question.
– He once asked “are you ashamed of me?”. Then I said it wasn’t, but meant “if you go there, I’ll go here”. You were simply scared and unsure, says Mrs Stenmark.
Both Tarja and daughter Iza then pay tribute to Ingemar Stenmark and tell what a fantastic husband and father the alpine legend is.
– He always wants to help. If I’m going to school or going somewhere, he always has to carry me. Even though I don’t really need help, says Iza.
– He always refuels the car. He would never leave any car without fuel. He’s quite a gentleman, I think. He always carries the lunch bag, he always opens the door, he never goes in first himself, says Tarja.
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