Ingemar Stenmark and Börje Salming became neighbors.
Then friends.
Now the alpine legend speaks out about the grief.
– It is terrible, he says.
When Ingemar Stenmark chose to move to Vaxholm, just outside Stockholm, it was all thanks to Börje Salming. The hockey icon had cut off a lot and was looking for a new neighbor. He needed someone to sell to, and it wasn’t just anyone he asked.
A long friendship
Ingemar Stenmark got the call, accepted, and that was just the beginning of a long friendship. After living next door, they both kept in touch, right up until Börje Salming passed away, earlier in the winter.
– I don’t know if it was his idea or if someone tipped him off about me. Because I wasn’t really looking for a plot there, but for some reason he called me and I’m very grateful for that, says Stenmark to TT.
The hockey world was in mourning when the news of Börje Salming’s death came. The Toronto icon suffered from ALS during the summer, and during the fall fought a tough battle against the disease. Ingemar Stenmark suffered with his friend.
– It is terrible. It came as a shock. That it happened so quickly was not prepared for, says Stenmark.
READ MORE: When Ingemar Stenmark made an unexpected joke – and shocked everyone around the dinner table: “That’s why you are so…”
Reveals unexpected help
Börje Salming and Ingemar Stenmark did not live next door during the last years. Salming lived instead in Nacka, east of Stockholm, but they both kept in touch.
– I met him in June and then you could tell by his eyes that it was not good and he said so too. Then he was supposed to get a message a week later, but it came even later as I understand it, he says.
Ingemar Stenmark then had contact with Börje Salming via SMS, when the hockey legend lost the ability to speak due to his illness. Ingemar Stenmark is current with the documentary about his incredible career, called “Sagan Stenmark”, which premieres on TV4 on December 15. There it is seen, among other things, that he gets a hearing aid, and then Salming had a hand in the game.
– He was the one I called when I needed hearing aids. I knew he had, so he was the one who told me where I could go, says Stenmark.
READ MORE: Börje Salming’s last fight in life – the icon’s great courage has contributed to several million kroner: “You get teary-eyed”