Transcending generations of viewers, ABC’s Wide World of Sports (1961-1997) was an iconic television sports program. It began each week with Jim McKay uttering the words, “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” Vinko Bogataj personified the Agony of Defeat.
The day was March 7, 1970, and Vinko Bogataj competed as a Yugoslav entrant at the World Ski Flying Championships in Oberstdorf, West Germany. A light snow began falling at the start of the competition, and by the time Bogataj was ready for his jump, the snow had turned heavy.
Midway down the in-run, he noticed the conditions had made the ramp too fast. He tried to lower his center of gravity and slow his jump, but instead he lost his balance completely and careened out of control off the end of the inrun, falling and flipping violently, then crashing through a light retaining fence near a crowd of spectators before coming to a complete halt.
Bogataj suffered a concussion and a broken ankle.
Bogataj remembers the crash very vividly, but the aftermath was vague to him. His daughter Sandra said, “It was bad weather, and he had to wait around 20 minutes before he got permission to start. He remembers that he couldn’t see very well. The track was very bad, and just before he could jump, the snow or something grabbed his skis, and he fell. From that moment, he doesn’t remember anything.”
With Ali at the 20th Anniversary show (photo courtesy Games and Rings)
After the fall, Bogataj returned to training the following June. He returned to ski jumping in 1971 but quickly retired from competition. In the years that followed, Bogataj lived a very quiet life in Slovenia.
In 1981, ABC asked him to attend a ceremony in New York to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of “Wide World of Sports.” Little did he know that his celebrity had become popular and was also a viral sensation. At the gala, Bogataj received the loudest ovation of all the athletes introduced. Many attendees asked for his autograph, and the moment became surreal when Muhammad Ali did too.
Sandra recalls the interaction between her father and Muhammad Ali. “He didn’t take [Ali] seriously that he wanted an autograph, because Muhammad Ali is a really famous guy. That was a special moment. Then he realized that he must be famous.”
In his native Slovenia, Bogataj supported himself with various jobs, including working as a trained metalworker and forklift operator. He also worked as a ski instructor. One of his students was Franci Petek, who was a native of Lesce, Slovenia. In 1991, Bogataj helped Petek win the FIS Nordic World Ski Championship individual large hill title, securing Petek a gold medal in the event.
Photo courtesy Festival Bled
Bogataj also became a widely acclaimed painter and wood carver. His paintings have been shown in major exhibitions in the United States and in Europe.
Throughout the years, his paintings have also won awards and prizes. Last year, his original paintings and prints were sold at auction and through private collectors, mostly in the United States and Europe. Bogataj is alive and well.
This past March, he turned 78 and continues to focus more on his paintings and wood carvings.
That’s what happened to Vinko Bogataj.
