Ingemar Stenmark
Jan Ingemar Stenmark is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Sweden. He is regarded as one of the most prominent Swedish athletes ever, and as the greatest slalom and giant slalom specialist of all time. He competed for Tärna IK Fjällvinden.
Biography
Born in Joesjö, Storuman Municipality, Lapland, Stenmark's family moved to Tärnaby near Norway when he was four years old. He became a childhood neighbour of Stig Strand, who tied Stenmark for the World Cup slalom title in 1983. Stenmark began skiing at the age of five and won his first national competition at age eight.Competitive record
Stenmark made his World Cup debut in December 1973 at age 17. He has won more international races than any other alpine skier to date: he took 86 World Cup wins. Stenmark won only in the two technical disciplines: slalom and giant slalom. He rarely competed in the other disciplines, as he was not comfortable with speeds in excess of. Stenmark still has the record for the biggest win-margin in a World Cup alpine race: 4,06 seconds ahead of 2nd placed Bojan Križaj in Jasna on 4 February 1979. Stenmark was known as a quiet champion, with short, but polite, responses to media questions.For his three straight World Cup titles, Stenmark earned the Holmenkollen medal in 1979. Stenmark also earned the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal twice. His 1978 medal was shared with tennis player Björn Borg, making them the only two men to ever win the honor twice.
At the World Championships in 1978 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen West Germany, Stenmark won the slalom by two-thirds of a second and the giant slalom by over two seconds, and successfully defended both world titles at the Winter Olympics in 1980 at Lake Placid, which also were counted as world championships. At the next worlds in 1982 in Austria, he had a sub-standard first run in the giant slalom and was upset by American Steve Mahre and settled for silver. Stenmark rebounded in the slalom and became the first to win the same title in three consecutive world championships. At age 25, it was his final medal in a major competition.
Stenmark was not allowed to participate in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo by the International Ski Federation for accepting promotional payments directly, rather than through the national ski federation. Hanni Wenzel of Liechtenstein was also banned; both were double gold medalists in 1980. Marc Girardelli, who was the best slalom racer during the 1983-84 season, wasn't allowed to participate either. In his case it was because he didn't have citizenship in Luxembourg, the country for which he competed. Stenmark was allowed back into the Olympic competition in 1988, but was past his prime and did not win a medal. He retired from World Cup competition at the end of the 1989 season in March, days before his 33rd birthday.
Other
During the years from 1976 to 1978 Stenmark, along with tennis player Björn Borg, became a national icon in Sweden. This was not changed by the fact that he moved to Monaco in 1980 for tax reasons. At age 40, he won the Swedish Superstars championship in 1996. On 26 December 2004, Stenmark survived the Indian Ocean earthquake while on vacation in Thailand. In 2015, he was a celebrity dancer on the Let's Dance 2015, where he teamed up with professional dancer Cecilia Ehrling.Personal
Stenmark was married to Ann Uvhagen, a Lufthansa airline hostess, 1984–1987. They have a daughter, born 1984.In 2016 he married his girlfriend of some ten years, Tarja Olli from Jakobstad, Finland, with whom he has another daughter, born 2008.
World Cup results
Season titles
- 19 titles -
| Overall | Slalom | Giant Slalom |
| 1976 1977 1978 | 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1983 | 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1984 |
| 3 | 8 | 8 |
Season standings
Race victories
86 wins -, 155 podiums| Season | Date | Location | Discipline |
| 1975 | 17 Dec 1974 |  Madonna di Campiglio, Italy | Slalom |
| 1975 | 12 Jan 1975 |  Wengen, Switzerland | Slalom |
| 1975 | 21 Feb 1975 |  Naeba, Japan | Giant slalom |
| 1975 | 2 Mar 1975 |  Garibaldi, Canada | Giant slalom |
| 1975 | 13 Mar 1975 |  Sun Valley, USA | Giant slalom |
| 1976 | 15 Dec 1975 | Sterzing / Vipiteno, Italy | Slalom |
| 1976 | 11 Jan 1976 | Wengen, Switzerland | Slalom |
| 1976 | 24 Jan 1976 |  Kitzbühel, Austria | Slalom |
| 1976 | 27 Jan 1976 |  Zwiesel, West Germany | Giant slalom |
| 1976 | 7 Mar 1976 | Copper Mountain, USA | Slalom |
| 1976 | 14 Mar 1976 | Aspen, USA | Slalom |
| 1977 | 3 Jan 1977 | Laax, Switzerland | Slalom |
| 1977 | 10 Jan 1977 | Berchtesgaden, W. Germany | Slalom |
| 1977 | 16 Jan 1977 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Slalom |
| 1977 | 23 Jan 1977 | Wengen, Switzerland | Slalom |
| 1977 | 6 Feb 1977 | St. Anton, Austria | Slalom |
| 1977 | 6 Mar 1977 | Sun Valley, USA | Giant slalom |
| 1977 | 18 Mar 1977 |  Voss, Norway | Slalom |
| 1977 | 20 Mar 1977 |  Åre, Sweden | Slalom |
| 1977 | 21 Mar 1977 | Åre, Sweden | Giant slalom |
| 1977 | 25 Mar 1977 |  Sierra Nevada, Spain | Giant slalom |
| 1978 | 10 Dec 1977 |  Val d'Isère, France | Giant slalom |
| 1978 | 13 Dec 1977 | Madonna di Campiglio, Italy | Slalom |
| 1978 | 14 Dec 1977 | Madonna di Campiglio, Italy | Giant slalom |
| 1978 | 5 Jan 1978 | Oberstaufen, West Germany | Slalom |
| 1978 | 8 Jan 1978 | Zwiesel, West Germany | Giant slalom |
| 1978 | 9 Jan 1978 | Zwiesel, West Germany | Slalom |
| 1978 | 18 Mar 1978 | Arosa, Switzerland | Giant slalom |
| 1979 | 9 Dec 1978 | Schladming, Austria | Giant slalom |
| 1979 | 21 Dec 1978 |  Kranjska Gora, Yugoslavia | Slalom |
| 1979 | 22 Dec 1978 | Kranjska Gora, Yugoslavia | Giant slalom |
| 1979 | 7 Jan 1979 |  Courchevel, France | Giant slalom |
| 1979 | 16 Jan 1979 |  Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant slalom |
| 1979 | 23 Jan 1979 | Steinach, Austria | Giant slalom |
| 1979 | 4 Feb 1979 |  Jasná, Czechoslovakia | Giant slalom |
| 1979 | 10 Feb 1979 | Åre, Sweden | Giant slalom |
| 1979 | 11 Feb 1979 | Åre, Sweden | Slalom |
| 1979 | 4 Mar 1979 | Lake Placid, USA | Giant slalom |
| 1979 | 12 Mar 1979 | Heavenly Valley, USA | Giant slalom |
| 1979 | 17 Mar 1979 | Furano, Japan | Slalom |
| 1979 | 19 Mar 1979 | Furano, Japan | Giant slalom |
| 1980 | 8 Dec 1979 | Val d'Isère, France | Giant slalom |
| 1980 | 11 Dec 1979 | Madonna di Campiglio, Italy | Slalom |
| 1980 | 12 Dec 1979 | Madonna di Campiglio, Italy | Giant slalom |
| 1980 | 21 Jan 1980 | Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant slalom |
| 1980 | 27 Jan 1980 | Chamonix, France | Slalom |
| 1980 | 27 Feb 1980 | Waterville Valley, USA | Slalom |
| 1980 | 1 Mar 1980 |  Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada | Giant slalom |
| 1980 | 10 Mar 1980 | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy | Slalom |
| 1980 | 11 Mar 1980 | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy | Giant slalom |
| 1980 | 13 Mar 1980 |  Saalbach, Austria | Giant slalom |
| 1980 | 15 Mar 1980 | Saalbach, Austria | Slalom |
| 1981 | 9 Dec 1980 |  Madonna di Campiglio, Italy | Slalom |
| 1981 | 10 Dec 1980 | Madonna di Campiglio, Italy | Giant slalom |
| 1981 | 6 Jan 1981 | Morzine, France | Giant slalom |
| 1981 | 18 Jan 1981 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Slalom |
| 1981 | 26 Jan 1981 | Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant slalom |
| 1981 | 1 Feb 1981 | St. Anton, Austria | Slalom |
| 1981 | 2 Feb 1981 | Schladming, Austria | Giant slalom |
| 1981 | 8 Feb 1981 | Oslo, Norway | Slalom |
| 1981 | 11 Feb 1981 | Voss, Norway | Giant slalom |
| 1981 | 14 Feb 1981 | Åre, Sweden | Giant slalom |
| 1982 | 9 Jan 1982 | Morzine, France | Giant slalom |
| 1982 | 12 Jan 1982 | Bad Wiessee, West Germany | Slalom |
| 1982 | 17 Jan 1982 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Slalom |
| 1982 | 19 Jan 1982 | Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant slalom |
| 1982 | 9 Feb 1982 | Kirchberg, Austria | Giant slalom |
| 1983 | 14 Dec 1982 | Courmayeur, Italy | Slalom |
| 1983 | 23 Jan 1983 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Slalom |
| 1983 | 11 Feb 1983 | Markstein, France | Slalom |
| 1983 | 13 Feb 1983 | Todtnau, West Germany | Giant slalom |
| 1983 | 26 Feb 1983 | Gällivare, Sweden | Giant slalom |
| 1984 | 13 Dec 1983 | Courmayeur, Italy | Slalom |
| 1984 | 20 Dec 1983 | Madonna di Campiglio, Italy | Slalom |
| 1984 | 10 Jan 1984 | Adelboden, Switzerland | Giant slalom |
| 1984 | 17 Jan 1984 | Parpan, Switzerland | Slalom |
| 1984 | 23 Jan 1984 | Kirchberg, Austria | Giant slalom |
| 1984 | 4 Feb 1984 |  Borovetz, Bulgaria | Giant slalom |
| 1984 | 7 Mar 1984 | Vail, USA | Giant slalom |
| 1986 | 15 Dec 1985 | Alta Badia, Italy | Giant slalom |
| 1986 | 25 Jan 1986 | St. Anton, Austria | Slalom |
| 1986 | 27 Feb 1986 | Hemsedal, Norway | Giant slalom |
| 1986 | 18 Mar 1986 | Lake Placid, USA | Giant slalom |
| 1987 | 29 Nov 1986 | Sestriere, Italy | Slalom |
| 1987 | 14 Feb 1987 | Markstein, France | Slalom |
| 1989 | 19 Feb 1989 | Aspen, USA | Giant slalom |
Podiums
World championship results
From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing.At the World Championships from 1954 through 1980, the combined was a "paper race" using the results of the three events.
Olympic results
- Stenmark and Hanni Wenzel were banned from the 1984 Olympics.