Ingemar Stenmark

Ingemar Stenmark was born on March 18, 1956, in Josesjo, Sweden, in the Swedish Lapland, near the Norwegian border. He was raised in the nearby small town of Tarnaby, just 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle. During the summer, the sun hardly set, and in the winter, hardly

Ingemar Stenmark

rose. Stenmark spent the first six years of his life with his grandparents on their farm outside of Tarnaby before moving into town. It was a lonely, isolated existence with few children. His father, Erik Stenmark, an avid skier who had placed as high as fifth in a national slalom event, was a road construction worker and bulldozer operator who also owned three ski lifts. Encouraged and trained by his father, Stenmark began to ski at the age of five, using simple toe-strap bindings. Painfully shy and reserved, he began to ski because it was something he could do alone. Also, skiing was one of the few available activities in the community with a population of just 700.

In a region known to produce top-notched cross country skiers, Stenmark was drawn to the nearby 600-foot hill called Laxtjallet, meaning Salmon Mountain, that provided 2,000-foot slope, making it good only for slalom skiing. Because the course was lighted, Stenmark could ski after school during the cold winter months, when daylight dwindled quickly. Stenmark won his first race when he was seven and the following year won his first national competition in the slalom. In 1965 he qualified for an annual international race held in Italy, where he placed fourteen in his first attempt at the giant slalom. Stoic in personality, Stenmark was a perfectionist who scorned defeat. As a child he would sob in anger if he lost a race. Stenmark began training with the Swiss junior national team when he was thirteen years old.

Stenmark was an indifferent student, who didn't particularly enjoy school. After completing the required nine years of basic schooling, Stenmark decided to forego secondary school, partly because the nearest gymnasium, or school, was 150 miles away and partly because he wanted to concentrate on his skiing. "School was a drag," he later told Newsweek. "I couldn't develop as a skier and be a good student at the same time. I decided to do one thing well." Stenmark was also acutely aware that the Swiss national team, which had been a consistent and abysmal failure, had disbanded to use its limited resources to help support a group of fourteen- to sixteen-year-old trainees, including Stenmark.

During his first year with the junior national team, Stenmark trained for the giant slalom on the steeper, more challenging courses in Italy. His best finishes during the 1972-73 Swedish junior national season were fourth and fifth place. During the 1973-74 season Stenmark made remarkable progress. He began to understand that he could win with more consistency if he did not take unnecessary daredevil risks that often resulted in a fall. Although he did not win any junior World Cup races, he place second twice in the slalom and earned a third and fourth place in the giant slalom. The crowning moment came during the European junior championships, where he won gold in the giant slalom.