PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Ingemar Stenmark is one of Sweden’s greatest athletes ever.
But there is a darkness after the great successes on the hill.
Now “Stenis” admits his tough decision for the family.
There is no doubt that Ingemar Stenmark is one of our greatest sporting heroes of all time. Many also claim that the Alpine legend is the greatest of all in Swedish sports history.
Stenmark’s career
“Stenis” really dominated the slalom hill and lined up successes for so many years. If we look at the track record, it is absolutely incredible with two Olympic golds, five World Cup golds and an improbable 86 World Cup victories.
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Today he is 68 years old and lives a more withdrawn life as a pensioner. But of course he still misses that adrenaline rush from sports and has found a completely new sport.
“Having nightmares”
Stenmark has started pole vaulting in the autumn of his age and actually signed up for the veteran WC in Gothenburg later this summer. This sporting venture is more on a hobby level than his successful skiing career, which he later admitted has plagued him more than anyone could imagine.
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Ingemar felt a constant stress to perform at his best, he admitted in the documentary series “The Tale of Stenmark”.
– I have nightmares about skiing sometimes. I dream that I am on my way to the start and miss it, he says about how his sports career affects him to this day.
READ MORE: Ingemar Stenmark’s new, decisive decision as a 68-year-old makes all Swedes rejoice – the icon has finally accepted
When it was at its worst during competitions, he wanted to throw up before the start. To this day, he wants to talk internally about his fantastic sports career and all his successes on the ski slope, not even with his own family.
– It is a bygone era for me. It’s not something I think about. We don’t talk about it in the family either, admitted Ingemar Stenmark when he appeared as a guest on Nyhetsmorgon.
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