Peterka, Primoz

Primoz Peterka was born in Prikrnitsa, not far from the village of Moravce north of Ljubljana , then Yugoslavia . At six, he started jumping from a springboard. At the age of 12 he became a member of the Triglav ski club in Kran , where he also attended a secondary economic school. He started for the first time at the World Cup on January 6, 1996 in Innsbruck , Austria , replacing the jumper from the main team, who was in poor shape. In this competition, Primoz took eighth place and remained in the main team. He finished the 1995/1996 season in ninth place in the World Cup overall standings. He also took silver at the Junior World Cup, losing only to German Michael Urman .

In the 1996/1997 season, Peterka won seven competitions at the Cup stages, which allowed him to take first place in the overall standings. He also won the prestigious Four Springboard Tour and became the first Slovenian to fly 200 meters - on a flight springboard in Kulm, Austria, he flew 203 meters. The following season brought him a second consecutive victory in the World Cup, and at the Olympics in Nagano, he finished fifth in the big springboard and sixth in the middle.

In the next few years, Peterka was in crisis. Like most young athletes, the 19-year-old Primozh could not adapt to his rapid growth and change in growth and weight characteristics. The new coach Matyaz Zupan helped him develop a new jumping style, and in 2001 Peterka returned to the sports elite of Slovenia. At the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City , the Slovenian team (Primoh Peterka, Damyan Fras , Peter Zhonta and Robert Kranets ) won bronze. After that, Peterka updated his personal record, which now equals 212 meters, and was the record holder of Slovenia before the flight of Kranets at 222.5 meters.

In the 2002/2003 season, Peterka won two stages of the World Cup and finished seventh in the overall standings. However, the victory in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on January 1, 2003 was his last. From next year, he did not even get into the top ten. But at the World Championships in Oberstdorf, he took third place in team competition, sharing success with Ernei Damian, Jura Bogatay and new champion Rock Benkovic .

Since 2009, Peterka did not appear at the stages of the World Cup, speaking in the Continental Cup. In 2011, he announced the end of his career. Farewell of Peterka took place on July 2, 2011 in Kran . Now he is an assistant coach of the Slovenian women's ski jumping team.

In 1997 and 1998 Primoz Peterka was recognized as the athlete of the year in Slovenia .

Primoz Peterka - the first Slovenian athlete:

• winner of the World Cup;
• Winner of the Four Springboard Tours;
• flying away for 200 meters;
• received medals at both the Olympic Games and the World Cup.

Three documentaries were shot about Primozh: Fly, Primož ( Vleci, Primož ) 1997 - about his childhood and the beginning of his sports career; “Peterka: Year of Decision ” ( Peterka: leto odločitve ) directed by Vlado Cabinet in 2002 - about overcoming the sports crisis; and “Jumping is My Life” ( Skoki so moje življenje ) directed by Tomáž Kovšce 2011. In 2007, a book was written about his greatest successes.

Since 1996, Peterka met with Renata Bohinz, the beauty queen of Slovenia in 1996. On October 25, 2001, their son May was born. In May 2003, they finally got married. They had two more daughters, Guy (2006) and Stela (2008). Primoz has two younger brothers, one of whom, Uros, also jumped from a springboard for some time.

• Primoz Peterka - Olympic statistics on Sports-Reference.com
• Peterka, Primozh - statistics on the FIS website (English)
• Holmenkollen winners since 1892 - click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file (Norwegian)