Bojan Križaj () (born 3 January 1957) is a Slovenian former alpine skier. During his international career he competed for the then-existing

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. He competed at three Winter Olympics.

Career

Križaj, born in

Kranj Kranj (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fourth-largest city in Slovenia and the largest urban center of the traditional region of Upper Carniola (northwestern Slovenia) and the Slovene Alps. It is located approximately northwest o ...

, was a member of a well known

Tržič Tržič (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Slovenia, town in northern Slovenia, close to the Austrian border. It is the seat of the Municipality of Tržič. Geography The town is located within the historic Upper Carniola region on the Tr ...

ski family so he started skiing at the age of 3. In the season 1976/77 he received the first World Cup point, qualified among the 15 best slalom runners and later during that season in

Madonna di Campiglio Madonna di Campiglio () is a village and a ski resort in northeast Italy. It is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Pinzolo. The village lies in the Val Rendena at an elevation of above sea level, and has approximately 1,000 inhabitants. Th ...

he hit his first top 3 podium. On 20 January 1980 he achieved the first Yugoslav World Cup victory in Wengen,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and later he won seven more times, thus still being Yugoslavia's and Slovenia's most successful male alpine skier to date. At

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States. In 2020, its population was 2,205. The village of Lake Placid ...

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

, he reached the fourth place in

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding competitive discipline. It involves racing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in Slalom skiing, slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant sl ...

, missing the bronze medal by only two hundredths of a second. Four years later he took the athlete's oath at the opening ceremony for

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian language, Serbo-Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: ; ) and commonly known as Sarajevo '84 (Serbian Cy ...

. He caused a stir when he spoke the oath not in Croatian or Serbian but in Slovene. Despite great expectations of the Yugoslav audience he finished ninth in

, much less than expected. Križaj should also have competed at

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, but he got injured a few days before the event. His most successful World Championship was in 1982 in

Schladming Schladming () is a small former mining town in the northwest of the Austrian state of Styria that is now a popular tourist destination. It has become a large winter-sports resort and has held various skiing competitions, including most notably th ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

where he received the silver medal in slalom. His most successful World Cup season was 1986/87 when he received the small crystal globe for the season's best slalom runner (that was the only men's crystal globe of that season not won by

Pirmin Zurbriggen Pirmin Zurbriggen (born 4 February 1963) is a former FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, World Cup Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer from Switzerland. One of the most successful ski racers ever, he won the overall World Cup title four times, an Alpine skiing ...

). Beside that he was the second in World Cup slalom standings in the 1979/80 and 1985/86 seasons and third in the 1980/81 season. His best position in overall World Cup standings was the 4th place in 1979/80. He concluded his career in 1988 at the race in Saalbach,

where he stepped off the skis right at the end of the track and walked into the finish area. Since his skiing retirement he worked in many fields, including as importer of Austrian brand beer and adviser for ski products in Elan company. In March 2006 he became Head of Slovenian Ski Pool.

World Cup results

Season titles

Season standings

Race podiums

* 8 wins (8 SL) * 33 podiums (26 SL, 7 GS)

Olympic Games results

World Championships results

From

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

through

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, 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 held i ...

were also the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

for alpine skiing.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krizaj, Bojan 1957 births Living people Skiers from Kranj Yugoslav male alpine skiers Slovenian male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers for Yugoslavia Alpine skiers at the 1976 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1980 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1984 Winter Olympics Slovenian businesspeople FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Oath takers at the Olympic Games