Jiří Raška

Jiří Raška was a Czech ski jumper who competed for Czechoslovakia, born on 4 February 1941 in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm and regarded as the most famous Czech ski jumper of the 20th century. He trained in coach Zdeněk Remsa's group known as the Remsa Boys and joined the military sports club Dukla Liberec. At the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble he won the normal hill, the first Czech winner at the Winter Olympics, and added silver on the large hill. In March 1969 he set two world records at the opening of the Velikanka bratov Gorišek hill in Planica, ending at 164 metres. He later won large hill silver at the 1970 World Championships, the 1971 Four Hills Tournament and a bronze at the first Ski Flying World Championships, finished fifth at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, retired from competing in 1976 and coached the Czech team. He died on 20 January 2012.