Ingemar Stenmark

During the 1980s the reign of the King of Slalom drew slowly to a close. In 1981 Stenmark once again took the slalom and the giant slalom titles. Winning ten races, he lost out on the World Cup by six points to Phil Mahre. The following year Stenmark won gold in the slalom at the World Championship in Schladming and took silver in the giant slalom. Although he failed to retain both the slalom and giant slalom World Cup event titles, he still finished second in overall World Cup points. In 1983 he won his last slalom title and in 1984 he won his last giant slalom title. Both years he once again finished second in the World Cup standings. Stenmark's numerous endorsement contracts gave him professional status and made him ineligible for 1984 Olympic Games.

In 1984, for the first time since he was a small child, Stenmark's focus shifted from skiing. In April 1984 his daughter Nathalie was born, and in September 1984 Stenmark married his longtime live-in girlfriend Ann Ufhagen. Although he had lost some of his snap and speed in his dynamically precise skiing, Stenmark, who had achieved just about all there was to achieve, continued to ski because he still enjoyed it, but winning became a lesser priority. After rearranging his endorsement contracts, Stenmark was allowed to participate in the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, but his best finish was fifth in the slalom.

On March 12, 1989, Stenmark retired from skiing with a record 86 World Cup victories, consisting of 46 giant slaloms and 40 slaloms. That the second-best win record—belonging to Pirmin Zurbriggen—is 31 World Cup wins is a testament to the Silent Swede's total domination. Stenmark, who divorced in 1988 and remains unmarried, stays out of the public eye. He splits his time between Monte Carlo and Sweden and works for a Japanese sports clothing company. Despite detesting his celebrity status and all but shunning media attention throughout his career, Stenmark became an international star and a nation hero. He is arguably the best skier of all time.