Mirosław Graf (born 5 June 1959) is a Polish former

ski jumper 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 fin ...

, inventor of V-style.

Career

He began his career in 1969 in

Szklarska Poręba Szklarska Poręba () is a town in Karkonosze County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. The town has a population of around 6,500. It is a popular ski resort. An important regional and national centre for mountain hiking, cycli ...

, from 1974 he performed in Karpacz and latterly in

Zakopane Zakopane (Gorals#Language, Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has ...

from 1980-82. In 1969 he suffered an injury fracturing his ribs and suffering ankle sprain. After this he began to use his skis in a V shape. His coaches tried to help him unlearn this style, recommending he ski with his feet inward and placed special "jaws" on his

ski binding A ski binding is a device that connects a ski boot to the ski. Before the 1933 invention of Ski lift, ski lifts, skiers went uphill and down and cross-country on the same gear. As ski lifts became more prevalent, skis—and their bindings—became ...

. However, Graf found that he performed longer distances and safer jumps with his V style but the judges only awarded him 15-16 points. The V style was also used by the Swede

Jan Boklöv Jan Mauritz Boklöv (born 14 April 1966) is a Swedish former ski jumper who won the 1988–89 World Cup season. He also dominated the Swedish national championships during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is best known for popularising the now ...

in the late 1980s. In a competition in Karpacz, Graf performed the longest jump but took only 4th place. He set

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

records in Miłków,

Kottmar The Kottmar () is a mountain in Saxony, southeastern Germany. It is part of the Upper Lusatian Highlands (''Oberlausitzer Bergland''). Its elevation is 583m. The Kottmar is an extinct Volcano from the Tertiary and made up of Phonolite. At the ...

Lubawka Lubawka () is a town in Poland, in Lower Silesia Voivodship, in Kamienna Góra County. It is the administrative seat of Gmina Lubawka. It lies in the Sudetes near to the border with the Czech Republic on the way across the Lubawka pass (516m) bet ...

and Szklarska Poręba. In 1980 he took part in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

in Zakopane where he landed a jump of 108 metres. He ended his career in 1982, when he graduated from the

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

University of Physical Education. In 1989, the last time he jumped in Szklarska Poręba, he won the competition, setting a new hill record. After his retirement he worked as a

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

teacher and coach. He is a member of the

nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...

commission in the Polish Ski Federation. For nine years he managed a ski jumping club, the UKS GRAF-ski. In November 2014 he was elected mayor of Szklarska Poręba.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graf, Miroslaw 1959 births Living people Polish male ski jumpers Place of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Polish sportsmen