For many people, the idea of ​​a vacation is an opportunity to relax, get away from the stresses of everyday life, and take a few good days to rest. This could involve a beach vacation in a place like the Caribbean or the South Pacific, which offers bright sunshine and picturesque views. For others, it could be a city break, to explore the culture of somewhere like Rome, Barcelona or Paris. Then there are also people who like to be active and will choose a walking holiday, perhaps on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, or the Peak District in England.

Of course, for some people this type of vacation seems boring and would much prefer spending time on the slopes, snowboarding or skiing. Skiing vacations are incredibly popular, especially in parts of Europe near the Alps or Scandinavia, and also in the United States in places like Aspen or Big Sky. Given the love of all winter sports in America, it’s no surprise that people enjoy skiing.

While for many people skiing is just a leisure activity, it is of course a competitive sport in its own right, dating back to the early 1800s. It was also part of the very first Olympic Games in winter of 1924, and since then other ski events such as downhill and sprint races have also been included, meaning it is one of the most popular winter sports today. hui.

Always wanted to know who are 5 of the greatest skiers of all time? Let’s take a look at a few of these celebrity names, looking at their backgrounds and accomplishments in the sport.

Stemark at the top of the table all-time

To be a great skier, it helps to be born or live in a country close to real mountains, so that you have ample opportunity to train and practice as often as possible. That’s why on the list of the best skiers of all time, many come from Sweden, Austria and Norway, while countries like the Netherlands, Egypt and Australia are not really represented.

The first place in the list of great skiers goes to Ingemar Stenmark, from Josejo in Sweden. Born in 1956, he grew up in Tanaby, near the Norwegian border. Stenmark started skiing at a very young age and by the age of 8 he had already won his first national tournament.

He made his World Cup debut in 1973 when he was just 17 years old. Although he was not very successful that year, over time he won 86 World Cup events, including 40 in the slalom and 46 in the giant. slalome. He also has an impressive Olympic record, winning bronze in giant slalom in 1976, before taking gold in slalom and giant slalom in 1984. Put simply, he is the greatest skier of all time.

Who else completes the top 5?

If we just look at achievements in the World Cup, the World Championships and the Olympics, the next most successful skier would be the Austrian Marcel Hirscher. He played 10 seasons (2010-2019) in which he won 67 races. The majority of them came in the giant slalom (31) and the slalom (32) but he also achieved 1 victory in the super giant slalom. He also won gold medals at the 2013, 2015 and 2017 World Championships, and won 2 gold medals at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

In 3rd place is another Austrian, Hermann Maier. He competed between 1997 and 2009 and won 54 individual races. He has been prolific in both super giant slalom (24 wins) and giant slalom (15), but has also won 15 runs. He won 2 gold medals at the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998 and 3 gold medals at the world championships.

Behind Maier in 4th place is the only Italian in the top 10, Albertom Tomba. In his 12 seasons, he has achieved 50 racing victories, both in giant slalom and slalom. Tomba has 3 Olympic gold medals from the 1988 and 1992 games and 2 gold from the 1996 Sierra Nevada World Championships.

Then in 5th place we have Marc Girardelli from Luxembourg. He won races in 5 different events, including downhill and combined. He never won a gold medal in the Winter Olympics, with 2 silver medals out of 92 games, but won 4 gold medals in 4 different world championships.

More top-level skiing on the way

As the Winter Olympics in China are only a few months away, ski fans will soon have the chance to enjoy a whole range of ski competitions, where the best skiers in the world will compete against each other to try and win some great ski competitions. gold, silver and bronze medals. There are six ski events for men and women in next year’s games; downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super-G, combined and mixed team. With all of this, you won’t be able to skip some top-level ski action at the Beijing Winter Olympics next February.

The action doesn’t end there, as there are plenty of other flagship events in the winter games, like figure skating, bobsleigh, curling and, of course, ice hockey. If you love the NHL and regularly look for NHL betting picks, you should take a look at trying therx.com as a great handicap tool and don’t miss out on the best ice hockey deals, as well as a range. others better in sports.