Photo: Bildbyrån
Ingemar Stenmark has done some downhill skiing.
For the magazine Åka Skidor, he now tells about his very best ride ever.
– Most of the time there wasn’t perfect snow at the World Cup, but that time it was perfect, he says.
With his two Olympic golds, five WC golds, two Bragdgolds and 86 World Cup victories is Ingemar Stenmark68, undeniably one of our greatest sportsmen of all time. During his active career between 1973 and 1989, he was the big poster name of alpine downhill skiing around the world.
Ingemar Stenmark’s memorable competition
Anyone can understand that Stenmark has managed to graze thousands and thousands of downhill skiers over the years. Some have been more memorable, others not at all. When Ingemar recently spoke to the trade magazine Åka Skidor, he was asked which is actually his best ride ever.
– It is the ride where I have felt the most wonderful feeling. There is a giant slalom in Courchevel which I won by three seconds something. 3.73 I think. Yeah, I don’t remember. (eds note 3.73 is correct. Second came Peter LüscherSwitzerland, 7 January 1979). The ride itself was probably nothing special, he says.
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– If you were to see it today, it wouldn’t look so remarkable. But just the fact that the snow was so good. Most of the time it wasn’t perfect snow at the World Cup, but this time it was perfect. So you could ride and get such real sharp turns, he continues.
Ingemar Stenmark’s words about perfect snow
It’s obvious that he thought about that particular ride several times before. He describes it so carefully and in detail and remembers exactly what the weather conditions were like that day in January 1979.
– Unfortunately, I never got to experience the carving skis that exist today. It was what you strived for to get a perfect turn. You never got that. You always had to slide in and push. Today you can only cut through the entire turn. But that particular competition felt like the snow was perfect and the skis suited it well so everything worked. It was a wonderful feeling, he says.
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In addition, he offers an extra anecdote about his best ride, if you ignore competitive rides. So when he went purely privately and experienced something fantastic.
– It was once when I was in Japan, Shiga Kogen. I was at some event that had taken the whole day but then it was like a while over so I went off by myself. Otherwise, you always go with a group and that’s great, but now it was just me. The combination… being completely alone in this forest and this amazing snow. It was a great feeling. Of course there are several occasions, but I remember that one well, he says.
Ingemar Stenmark is such a fantastic and wonderful athlete. Imagine having experienced all that he has been through. It is truly rare. Who do you think is Sweden’s greatest sportsman or woman ever? Please write a comment!
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