Primož Peterka
| Primož Peterka | ||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
| Born |
February 28, 1979 Prikrnica, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia | |||||||||||||||
| Professional information | ||||||||||||||||
| Club | SK Triglav Kranj | |||||||||||||||
| Skis | Elan | |||||||||||||||
| Personal best | 212 m. (Planica 2000) | |||||||||||||||
| World Cup | ||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 1995-2011 | |||||||||||||||
| Wins | 15 | |||||||||||||||
| Additional podiums | 19 | |||||||||||||||
| Total podiums | 34 | |||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Primož Peterka (
pronunciation (help·info)) (born February 28, 1979) is a Slovenian former ski jumper. He has won 15 World Cup events, making him the third most successful Slovenian winter sports athlete and one of the most successful Slovenian sports personalities.
Career
Born in Prikrnica, near Ljubljana, Slovenia (then Yugoslavia), he started ski jumping at a small ski jumping hill (critical point at approx. 20 metres) near his hometown Moravče, a small town about 30 km north east from the capital Ljubljana. He later joined a Ski club Triglav from Kranj.
He first participated in the World Cup on January 4, 1996. Due to poor results of Slovenian jumpers, he was called as replacement for event in Innsbruck, where he finished 8th. That was considered as superb result, so he soon became a leading jumper for Slovenia. For the rest of the season, he was jumping in great form, winning the events in Zakopane and Falun and finishing 9th overall. He also finished second behind Michael Uhrmann at the 1996 Junior World Championships.
The 1996/1997 season was a big success for Peterka. He won 7 individual events, as well as the prestigious Four Hills Tournament. In World Cup overall standings only Dieter Thoma of Germany was able to keep up with him, but Peterka ended the season on top. He also won the ski flying standings. On February 9, 1997 he became the first Slovenian to fly over 200 meters (with 203 meters long jump in Kulm, Austria).
The 1997/1998 season was also successful. Peterka won 4 individual events and for the second time in a row the World Cup overall, defeating Kazuyoshi Funaki of (Japan) in the final event of the season. He also won the ski jumping standings (standings where ski flying results are excluded). At the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano he claimed 5th place in the individual large hill event and 6th place in the individual normal hill event, results that some thought were disappointing.
A personality crisis is typical for many young ski jumpers and Peterka was no exception. After three successful seasons his results were suddenly no longer near the standards expected from him. During the few years time details from his personal life were discussed in public, mostly his clashes with officials and his relationship with Renata Bohinc, the 1996 beauty Queen of Slovenia.
A turning point in Peterka's life and career came in 2001, when his son was born. In the 2001/2002 season he returned to the ski jumping elite. At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City he won the bronze team medal together with Robert Kranjec, Damijan Fras and Peter Žonta. Season 2002/2003 was also very successful, Peterka won two individual events (Kuusamo and Garmisch-Partenkirchen) and finished the season 7th overall.
Seasons after 2002/2003 were not so good for Peterka. Since 2004 he has never managed to finish inside top 10 in individual World Cup event. However, at the World Championships in Oberstdorf he won another bronze team medal for Slovenia (together with Jure Bogataj, Rok Benkovič and Jernej Damjan). This makes Peterka the first Slovenian jumper with medals from both, Olympic games and the World Championship.
Two sports documentary films were made about his life and career. First is called Vleci, Primož ("Fly, Primož"). It was directed by Beno Hvala in 1997 and it's a story of his early career. Second is called Peterka: leto odločitve ("Peterka: Year of Decision"), it was directed by Vlado Škafar in 2002 and it focuses on personality crisis of young champion and finding his way back to the top.
World Cup victories
| Date | Location |
|---|---|
| January 27, 1996 |  Zakopane |
| March 13, 1996 |  Falun |
| December 8, 1996 |  Kuusamo |
| December 15, 1996 |  Harrachov |
| January 1, 1997 |  Garmisch-Partenkirchen |
| January 11, 1997 |  Engelberg |
| January 12, 1997 | Engelberg |
| February 9, 1997 |  Tauplitz/Bad Mitterndorf |
| March 13, 1997 | Falun |
| January 18, 1998 | Zakopane |
| March 8, 1998 | Lahti |
| March 11, 1998 | Falun |
| March 15, 1998 |  Holmenkollen |
| November 29, 2002 | Kuusamo |
| January 1, 2003 | Garmisch-Partenkirchen |
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Primož Peterka. |
- Primož Peterka at the International Ski Federation
- Holmenkollen winners since 1892 – click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file (Norwegian)
| Olympic Games | ||
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| Preceded by Jure Košir |
Flagbearer for  SloveniaNagano 1998 |
Succeeded by Dejan Košir |
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