Jiří Raška (; 4 February 1941 – 20 January 2012) was a Czechoslovakian ski jumper. He is regarded as the most famous
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
ski jump
Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...
er of the 20th century.
Early life
He was born in
Frenštát pod Radhoštěm
Frenštát pod Radhoštěm (; german: Frankstadt (unter dem Radhoscht)) is a town in Nový Jičín District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is ...
in 1941. His father died of
leukaemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...
when Jiří Raška was nine years old, leaving his mother to raise four children on her own. His interest in winter sports was not surprising. His cousin and uncle, both active jumpers, took him as their disciple. ''"We were saying that children in Frenštát are born with skis on their feet,"'' Raška said in the interview for Czech newspaper
Lidové noviny
''Lidové noviny'' (''People's News'', or ''The People's Newspaper'', ) is a daily newspaper published in Prague, the Czech Republic. It is the oldest Czech daily still in print, and a newspaper of record.football,
cycling
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...
As a young jumper he got into coach Zdeněk Remsa's legendary group, the “Remsa Boys”. When military service on Šumava threatened Raška’s budding career, Remsa arranged his entrance into the military sports club Dukla Liberec. In 1964 he travelled to the
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
in Innsbruck as a substitute. There he watched Josef Matouš, who led after the first round and had an opportunity to become the second Czech individual Winter Olympic medalist, but ended up without a medal. Four years later, Raška was in a similar situation.
Four Hills Tournament
The Four Hills Tournament (german: link=no, Vierschanzentournee) or the German-Austrian Ski Jumping Week (german: link=no, Deutsch-Österreichische Skisprung-Woche) is a ski jumping event composed of four World Cup events and has taken place in ...
, he travelled to the
1968 Winter Olympics
The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...
in
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
as one of the favourites. Raška himself was hoping to take the fifth place and would not have been disappointed with the tenth place. Czech writer Ota Pavel described his first jump in the normal hill event: ''"It was a beautiful flight in the infinite silence, that took short human age. Painter and editor Ota Mašek nearly fainted, photographer Jarda Skála stopped photographing. Coach Remsa was washing his face with snow and squeaking Norwegian Wirkola stopped squeaking."'' Raška jumped 79 metres, which was less than Austrian
Baldur Preiml
Baldur Preiml (born 8 July 1939, in Bruggen) is an Austrian former ski jumper who competed from 1960 to 1968.
His best-known finish was a Bronze medal in the Individual Normal Hill at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis ...
, but thanks to better style he led after the first round. In the second jump he did not fare well, reaching only 72.5 meters, but he went on to victory. Jiří Raška became the first Czech winner in the Winter Olympics. He added the silver medal in the large hill event, beaten only by Vladimir Beloussov of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
.
On 22 March 1969, he set two world records, both at the opening of Velikanka bratov Gorišek in
Planica
Planica () is an Alpine valley in northwestern Slovenia, extending south from the border village of Rateče, not far from another well-known ski resort, Kranjska Gora. Further south, the valley extends into the Tamar Valley, a popular hiking ...
. First he tied at 156 metres (512 ft) and then on 164 metres (538 ft), which lasted one day only.
That year he managed to win six races in a row. At the
1970 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1970 took place 14–22 February 1970 in Vysoké Tatry, Czechoslovakia (present-day Slovakia). This was the second time this city hosted the event having done so in 1935. It was the first time an event was tel ...
in
Vysoké Tatry
Vysoké Tatry (; hu, Magastátra, ; german: Höhe Tatra, ; pl, Wysokie Tatry, ; cs, Vysoké Tatry, ), formally Mesto Vysoké Tatry () is a town at the feet of the Slovak part of High Tatras in Slovakia including all the major resorts in that ...
, over a hundred thousand visitors came to see him jump. He finished second in the large hill event and eighth in the normal hill event.
Raška's other successes included a silver medal at the World Championships in the large hill in 1970, victory in the
Four Hills Tournament
The Four Hills Tournament (german: link=no, Vierschanzentournee) or the German-Austrian Ski Jumping Week (german: link=no, Deutsch-Österreichische Skisprung-Woche) is a ski jumping event composed of four World Cup events and has taken place in ...
1972 Winter Olympics
The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Euro ...
in
Sapporo
( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous cit ...
.
In 1974 he became a coach but continued with active jumping. ''"I decided to end immediately as the first junior beats me,"'' he said to the
Hospodářské noviny
''Hospodářské noviny'' (English: "Economic Newspaper") is a daily newspaper published nationally in the Czech Republic.
History and profile
''Hospodářské noviny'' was first published on 21 May 1990. The paper is headquartered in Prague an ...
(Czech newspaper Thus he ended his competition career in 1976 after being defeated by František Novák.
Coaching career
Between 1994 and 1996 he was together with Medal and later on Malec coach of the Czech representation. During the 1990s he was also a coach of the Czech junior representation and vice-chair of the Czech Ski Union. In the Union’s poll he was elected as a Czech skier of the century. He died in 2012 in
Nový Jičín
Nový Jičín (; german: Neutitschein) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic centre of Nový Jičín is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...