Photo: Anders Bjurö/TT, Bildbyrån
Ingemar Stenmark was so good that they had to change the rules to stop his superiority.
All of a sudden he had to score points in the downhill in order to win the overall World Cup.
– It is probably my greatest merit that they changed the rules, he says to the newspaper Åka Skidor.
Two Olympic golds, five WC golds, two Bragdgolds and 86 World Cup victories. Ingemar Stenmark68, is undeniably one of our greatest athletes of all time. He dominated alpine skiing in the 70s and 80s and put Sweden on the map.
Stenmark crashed during a downhill race
Ingemar Stenmark was also so superior that the International Ski Federation (FIS) felt compelled to change the regulations so that it would not be too uneven. The Swede had won the overall World Cup three years in a row between 1975 and 1978 – but then it was decided that the riders had to score points in all distances – including the downhill – in order to win the overall. It did not suit Ingemar, who was the best in slalom and giant slalom.
READ MORE: Ingemar Stenmark admits his great weakness as an athlete
At least he made some attempts at downhill skiing. During a training run in the Italian Schnalstal on September 15, 1979, he was involved in an accident that could have cost him his life. He crashed during downhill training and passed out.
– Yes, but I remember even less of that because I became unconscious (laughs). But I didn’t perceive it as anything really serious because I wasn’t in pain. It was just that I was in the hospital in Innsbruck for two weeks, I think. They didn’t want to let me go, I think they were afraid to Leonardo David had suffered a concussion earlier in the spring of that year and then he died after that, Stenmark tells the newspaper Åka Skidor.
Ingemar Stenmark is proud of the rule change
At the same time, Ingemar is proud that he somehow got the association to change the regulations. That in itself is an achievement.
– It is probably my greatest merit, that they changed the rules. But it didn’t do anything. I had won three total World Cups, so it was okay, he says.
READ MORE: When all of Sweden thought that Ingemar Stenmark died on the hill – but seconds later the huge mistake was revealed
Contrary to what everyone believes, and what has been reported about in the past, the 68-year-old says that he was not at all very disappointed when the rules were changed.
– Many people think that downhill running was forced on me. But it was actually my idea. Not because I felt compelled to win the World Cup, but I wanted to test and see how it works. If the rules hadn’t changed, I might not have tried. I don’t know. But I felt no compulsion, he says.
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