Vinko Bogataj
Vinko Bogataj 
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| nation |
.svg){kind=small} Yugoslavia
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| birthday | March 4, 1948 |
| place of birth | Brezovica pri Kropi , Yugoslavia |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| status | resigned |
Vinko Bogataj (born March 4, 1948 in Brezovica pri Kropi ) is a former ski jumper from Slovenia , who competed for the Yugoslav ski jumping team in the 1960s and 1970s . He did not become famous because of his successes, but because of a spectacular-looking fall, which was then shown for 30 years in the opening trailer of the American ABC program Wide World of Sports .
Career
Bogataj entered on March 21, 1970 for the Yugoslav team at the Ski Jumping World Championships in Oberstdorf . While there was light snowfall at the beginning of the competition, it had become much stronger until Bogataj had to complete his third jump. About halfway in the approach he noticed that the approach was too fast to land a safe jump in the bad weather conditions. He tried to lower his body's center of gravity in order to slow down the start-up and possibly stop it completely. In the process, however, he completely lost his balance, shot without control over his movements and flapping wildly from the take-off table and flew through a slightly attached retaining fence just next to the spectators. Fortunately, he survived the fall unharmed except for a slight concussion .
He entered competitions again in 1971, but no longer achieved the good results he had before. Shortly afterwards he retired from active competitive sports and has lived in Lesce, Slovenia since then . In addition to occasional appearances at senior men's competitions, he concentrated on his work as a ski instructor and worked as a forklift driver in a factory to supplement his income. His most prominent student was Franci Petek , whom he led to the 1991 World Ski Jumping Championships.
But he became famous in the USA because a team from the ABC program Wide World of Sports was there by chance and recorded the fall. The opening trailer of the show consists of a constant introductory text, spoken by the presenter Jim McKay , and which is superimposed on various scenes from the world of sports that have been cut together. While these excerpts changed, Bogataj's fall stayed with a few exceptions always in the trailer, always combined with the words ... and the agony of defeat .
The show is popular enough with sports fans in the US to make the trailer widely known, especially ... and the agony of defeat became the buzzword. The attention combined with the friendly pity for Bogataj, who fell from the hill week after week, turned the unknown ski jumper into a well-known icon of misfortune. Bogataj, who lives privately in Slovenia, had no idea of this for many years. When the ABC invited him to the anniversary broadcast of Wide World of Sports in 1991 , he was already surprised enough, but it was downright shocking that other sports greats present such as Muhammad Ali asked him for autographs.
Trivia
In the pilot of the TV series Scrubs, he played a sleeping patient who was mistakenly diagnosed by one of the main characters as having cardiac arrest and then treated with a defibrillator .
The father of two daughters is now also active as a painter.
Web links
- Vinko Bogataj in the database of the International Ski Federation (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bogataj Fell Into Fame (English) accessed on June 10, 2013
- ↑ Legendary Runs, accessed June 10, 2013
- ↑ Vinko Bogatajs accidental fame (English) accessed on June 10, 2013
- ↑ Chat wrap: ABC's Terry Gannon (English) accessed June 10, 2013
- ^ My first Day (2001) Trivia (English) accessed on June 10, 2013
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bogataj, Vinko |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Slovenian ski jumper |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 4, 1948 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brezovica pri Kropi , former Yugoslavia |