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In the hierarchy of skiing accidents, there are spills, there are falls, and there are catastrophic wipeouts. "The agony of defeat" was definitely a catastrophic wipeout. For years, ABC's "Wide World of Sports" showcased the crash during its introduction: Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport! The thrill of victory...and the agony of defeat! The human drama of athletic competition! This is ABC's Wide World of Sports! The agonized athlete was a Slovene ski jumper by the name of Vinko Bogataj. A respected jumper and a fierce
competitor, Bogataj's fate took a turn for the worse at the World Ski Flying Championships in 1970. Midway through his third run, Bogataj felt he was going too fast and tried to slow down. Unfortunately, he lost his balance and tumbled spectacularly over the side of the ramp. Bogataj suffered only a concussion, though apparently he never again jumped with quite the same "abandon." Understandable, if you ask us. An interesting side note: Bogataj lived behind the Iron Curtain. As a result, he had no idea how infamous his crash had become in the United States. So it was with great confusion that he accepted an invitation to attend ABC's "Wide World of Sports" anniversary show. Once there, he found himself hounded by fans (including Muhammad Ali) who wanted to shake hands with "the agony of defeat." We call that a minor victory.
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