He is one of our greatest sporting heroes of all time.
Now Ingemar Stenmark has made his debut – in a completely new sport.
And of course it was an instant success.
Ingemar Stenmark has a special place in the hearts of all Swedish sports lovers. During his career, there were two Olympic golds, five World Cup golds and an unparalleled record of 86 World Cup victories, which stood for a full 34 years. Stenmark is the king of the entire alpine world, and to this day he is the idol of many of the stars in the sport.
Immediate success
Today, Stenmark has turned 67 years old, but he continues to amaze the Swedish people with his incomparable physique. Long after Stenmark ended his career, he still remains active, and the most admirable thing is that he still seeks new challenges.
Last fall, Stenmark got the chance to start training in pole vaulting of all sports, and he gladly took it. Since then, he has been aiming for the World Veterans Championship this summer, and this week he made his first competition in his new sport. Stenmark succeeded in jumping 2.70 in his life’s first athletics competition, which was enough for a new Swedish annual best in the M65 class.
“Had problems”
It is a long way from Armand Duplanti’s world record, but a real success for Stenmark, who also did not have the best conditions.
– I have had recurring injury problems during the winter but hope it will get better, he tells the website athletics.
Ingemar Stenmark still hasn’t decided whether he will compete in the Veterans WC in Gothenburg in August. He also believes that he has no goal when it comes to height. He mostly just wants to succeed in making good jumps.
– It is not so important to reach a specific height, what I want is to jump well technically, he says.
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