An injured skier in the ‘agony of defeat’ visits St. Louis from Slovenia
When I sat across from Vinko Bogataj in the cafe St. Louis, I was just thinking — how the hell is he here today?
Not because the 74-year-old lives in a small village in Slovenia, but because – how did he even survive this accident?
You see, Bogataj is “the agony of defeat.” For sports fans of a certain generation, it was a notable part of their world (well, the wider world).
From the early 1970s to the late 1990s, Bogataj was featured in the intro of ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” television show. The program was as much a part of American Saturdays as college football and “SNL.” And before every show, the narrator said, “We cover the world to bring you a constant variety of sports – the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”
The accompanying clip, timed with “the agony of defeat,” showed the then Yugoslavian skier during a jump. At a dangerously high speed downhill, he lost his footing and skidded violently, his skis whipping almost like a propeller. He floated off the side of the slope, taking a huge sign with him. He hit the snow and his whole body kept bouncing down the slope.
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He was faceless but famous, nameless but internationally famous. He was forever associated with sporting failure – but also respected for his athletic tenacity. Amazingly, he only broke one bone and returned to competing in ski jumping for the next few years. He still skis recreationally today.
He did suffer a concussion, in part because – and this is stupid to believe in 2022 – he was only wearing a cap with socks.
“I would be much happier if people knew me by some world record or something like that,” Bogataj said on Monday, translated by his friend Benka Pulko. “But I am aware that records are broken or forgotten – and that is never forgotten.”
Bogataj first met Pulka and her husband Keith Carr about eight years ago. Carr often wondered where Bogataj was. They lived in Europe at the time, and Pulko is from Slovenia, so they looked for him.
“He said, ‘come!'” said Pulko, who is also a well-known adventurer – she set a Guinness World Record for riding a motorcycle that took her to all seven continents. “People in Slovenia are very open. We will eat and drink and be merry. And that’s exactly what we did. We spent the whole evening talking far into the night.”
A friendship blossomed. In the years that followed, Carr and Pulko moved to Missouri—Carr’s home state—and bought a farm in Park Hills, about an hour from St. Louis. Bogataj planned to visit the northeast of our country this September – so they arranged for him to come to Missouri as well. They went on hikes and told old stories.
“Our dogs were in love with him,” Pulko said. “And we presented him with Missouri wines, because every Slovenian knows wine — that’s how we tried to combine knowledge. He really liked the Hellbender of Stone Hill.”
Bogataj’s memorable accident occurred in March 1970. He was a member of the Yugoslav national team competing in Oberstdorf, West Germany. He was young. Not very experienced. He was, if you will, over the skis.
After the crash, however, he was said to actually beg to try jumping again.
“Yes, that’s true,” Bogataj said Monday. “I wanted to — but they wouldn’t let me. … I was so full of adrenaline that I didn’t feel anything.”
At that time he was not a professional skier. He worked as a day laborer for a company that made chains. He continued to ski jump for a few years, but the more that passed since the accident, the more he realized how lucky he was to survive. And — could it happen again? He wanted a family. Therefore, he decided to stop competing.
But he continued to crash every Saturday afternoon.
“The first thing that went through my mind was – why is this so interesting to people?” Bogataj said about the famous recording. “We jumpers were used to such problems, we fell (sometimes). Today I understand why. I understand that a lot of the encouragement comes from — how the hell did you do that? You made it and survived.”
In 1981, he was invited to attend the 20th anniversary celebration of “Wide World of Sports”. He met with Muhammad Ali — who asked Bogataj for his autograph.
“The whole event seemed like it was on some other planet,” Bogataj said. “The spirit of the event, how I was invited and received, I still replay over and over again in my head. I can not believe.”
In the 1990s, the “Wide World of Sport” sent a team to Slovenia to interview Bogataj. On his way to the interview, Bogataj had a minor car accident. When he finally got around to being interviewed, he said, “Every time I’m on ABC, I collapse!”
In Slovenia, Bogataj worked and trained ski jumping for years. He and his wife raised two daughters. He discovered painting, especially watercolors, and became quite successful.
I had to ask him over coffee: The accident happened more than 50 years ago, but do you still sometimes feel lucky to be alive?
“O yeah! Often!” he said, according to Pulk’s translation. “If it had been just a little bit different, the story and the outcome could have been different.”
“Well,” I said, “I’m glad you’re here!”
And in the little English he knows, Bogataj said: “So am I!”