The Most Famous
SKIERS from Czechia
This page contains a list of the greatest Czech Skiers. The pantheon dataset contains 817 Skiers, 18 of which were born in Czechia. This makes Czechia the birth place of the 13th most number of Skiers behind United States, and Canada.
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Czech Skiers of all time. This list of famous Czech Skiers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Czech Skiers.
1. Jiří Raška (1941 - 2012)
With an HPI of 53.35, Jiří Raška is the most famous Czech Skier. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages on wikipedia.
Jiří Raška (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjɪr̝iː ˈraʃka]; 4 February 1941 – 20 January 2012) was a Czechoslovakian ski jumper. He is regarded as the most famous Czech ski jumper of the 20th century. He was born in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm in 1941. His father died of leukaemia when Jiří Raška was nine years old, leaving his mother to raise four children on her own. His interest in winter sports was not surprising. His cousin and uncle, both active jumpers, took him as their disciple. "We were saying that children in Frenštát are born with skis on their feet," Raška said in the interview for Czech newspaper Lidové noviny. Raška was however also active in other sports, like football, cycling and handball. As a young jumper he got into coach Zdeněk Remsa's legendary group, the “Remsa Boys”. When military service on Šumava threatened Raška’s budding career, Remsa arranged his entrance into the military sports club Dukla Liberec. In 1964 he travelled to the Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck as a substitute. There he watched Josef Matouš, who led after the first round and had an opportunity to become the second Czech individual Winter Olympic medalist, but ended up without a medal. Four years later, Raška was in a similar situation. Thanks to the fourth place in the 1966 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships and a second place in the Four Hills Tournament, he travelled to the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble as one of the favourites. Raška himself was hoping to take the fifth place and would not have been disappointed with the tenth place. Czech writer Ota Pavel described his first jump in the normal hill event: "It was a beautiful flight in the infinite silence, that took short human age. Painter and editor Ota Mašek nearly fainted, photographer Jarda Skála stopped photographing. Coach Remsa was washing his face with snow and squeaking Norwegian Wirkola stopped squeaking." Raška jumped 79 metres, which was less than Austrian Baldur Preiml, but thanks to better style he led after the first round. In the second jump he did not fare well, reaching only 72.5 meters, but he went on to victory. Jiří Raška became the first Czech winner in the Winter Olympics. He added the silver medal in the large hill event, beaten only by Vladimir Beloussov of the Soviet Union. On 22 March 1969, he set two world records, both at the opening of Velikanka bratov Gorišek in Planica, Yugoslavia. First he tied at 156 metres (512 ft) and then on 164 metres (538 ft), which lasted one day only. That year he managed to win six races in a row. At the 1970 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Vysoké Tatry, over a hundred thousand visitors came to see him jump. He finished second in the large hill event and eighth in the normal hill event. Raška's other successes included a silver medal at the World Championships in the large hill in 1970, victory in the Four Hills Tournament the year after, bronze in the historically first Ski-flying World Championships, and fifth place in the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. In 1974 he became a coach but continued with active jumping. "I decided to end immediately once the first junior beats me," he said to the Czech newspaper Hospodářské noviny. Thus he ended his competition career in 1976 after being defeated by František Novák. Between 1994 and 1996 he was together with Medal and later on Malec coach of the Czech representation. During the 1990s he was also a coach of the Czech junior representation and vice-chair of the Czech Ski Union. In the Union’s poll he was elected as a Czech skier of the century. He died in 2012 in Nový Jičín. Profile on the site of Czech Olympic Committee (in Czech) Archive interviews with Raška in v Grenoble (in Czech) Profile on Sportovci.cz (in Czech) Jiri Raska at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
2. Jaroslav Sakala (b. 1969)
With an HPI of 43.87, Jaroslav Sakala is the 2nd most famous Czech Skier. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Jaroslav Sakala (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjaroslaf ˈsakala]; born 14 July 1969) is a former ski jumper who competed for Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic.
3. Jiří Parma (b. 1963)
With an HPI of 41.75, Jiří Parma is the 3rd most famous Czech Skier. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Jiři Parma (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjɪr̝iː ˈparma], born 9 January 1963) is a Czech former ski jumper.
4. Kateřina Neumannová (b. 1973)
With an HPI of 40.63, Kateřina Neumannová is the 4th most famous Czech Skier. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Kateřina Neumannová (Czech pronunciation: [ˈkatɛr̝ɪna ˈnojmanovaː] ) (born 15 February 1973) is a Czech retired cross-country skier. She won an Olympic gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics, in the 30 km freestyle event. She is one of five cross country skiers to have competed at six Olympics. She was also the first Czech woman to appear in both a Summer and Winter Olympics, having participated in the mountain biking event at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Neumannová retired after the 2006-07 World Cup season.
5. Helena Šikolová (b. 1949)
With an HPI of 40.46, Helena Šikolová is the 5th most famous Czech Skier. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Helena Balatková (born Šikolová, 25 March 1949 in Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech pronunciation: [ˈɦɛlɛna ˈbalatkovaː ˈʃɪkolovaː]) is a former Czechoslovak cross-country skier who competed during the 1970s. She won a bronze medal in the 5 km event at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, becoming the first Czech of either sex to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing. Šikolová also finished fourth in the 10 km event at the 1970 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. She is mother of Helena Erbenová and mother-in-law of Lukáš Bauer.
6. Jakub Janda (b. 1978)
With an HPI of 39.82, Jakub Janda is the 6th most famous Czech Skier. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Jakub Janda (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjakup ˈjanda]; born 27 April 1978) is a Czech politician and former ski jumper. In ski jumping he competed from 1996 to 2017, winning the gold medal in the 2005–06 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup as the 2006 World Champion. He also won the 2005/06 Four Hills Tournament (shared with Janne Ahonen), as well as silver and bronze medals at the 2005 World Championships. Janda is one of the most successful ski jumpers from the Czech Republic, and is the only Czech World Cup champion to date.
7. Ester Ledecká (b. 1995)
With an HPI of 39.80, Ester Ledecká is the 7th most famous Czech Skier. Her biography has been translated into 36 different languages.
Ester Ledecká (Czech pronunciation: [ˈɛstɛr ˈlɛdɛtskaː], born 23 March 1995) is a Czech snowboarder and alpine skier. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Ledecká won gold medals in the super-G in alpine skiing and in the parallel giant slalom in snowboarding, becoming the first person to not only compete in the Winter Olympics using two different types of equipment (skis and snowboard) but to go further and win two gold medals and do so at the same Winter Olympics. She was the second woman to win an Olympic gold in two separate disciplines but the first to do so at the same Winter Olympics. She was the first Czech to win the parallel giant slalom in snowboarding at the FIS Snowboard World Cup.
8. Lukáš Bauer (b. 1977)
With an HPI of 38.69, Lukáš Bauer is the 8th most famous Czech Skier. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Lukáš Bauer (Czech pronunciation: [ˈlukaːʃ ˈbauɛr]; born 18 August 1977) is a Czech cross-country skier who has competed since 1996.
9. Blanka Paulů (b. 1954)
With an HPI of 38.36, Blanka Paulů is the 9th most famous Czech Skier. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Blanka Paulů (born March 31, 1954) is a former Czech cross-country skier who competed during the 1970s and 1980s. She won a silver medal in the 4 × 5 km relay at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo and finished fourth in the 20 km at those same games. Paulů also won two medals at the 1974 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with a silver in the 5 km and a bronze in the 4 × 5 km relay. She also had two individual victories in her career (10 km: 1982, 5 km: 1983).
10. Květa Jeriová (b. 1956)
With an HPI of 37.20, Květa Jeriová is the 10th most famous Czech Skier. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Květoslava Jeriová-Pecková (Czech pronunciation: [ˈkvjɛtoslava ˈjɛrɪjovaː ˈpɛtskovaː]; alternatively also Květa Jeriová-Pecková; born Květoslava Jeriová, 10 October 1956) is a former Czech cross-country skier. She competed from 1980 to 1984. She won three medals at the Winter Olympics with a silver at the 4 × 5 km relay (1984) and two bronzes in the 5 km (1980, 1984). Jeriová was the most successful Czech woman cross-country skier until Kateřina Neumannová came along in the 1990s. She also won a bronze medal in the 10 km at the 1982 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships and won a total of eight World cup events during her short career. Jeriová also won the 5 km event at the Holmenkollen ski festival in 1981.
People
Pantheon has 20 people classified as Czech skiers born between 1941 and 1995. Of these 20, 19 (95.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Czech skiers include Jaroslav Sakala, Jiří Parma, and Kateřina Neumannová. The most famous deceased Czech skiers include Jiří Raška. As of April 2024, 2 new Czech skiers have been added to Pantheon including Helena Šikolová, and Dagmar Švubová.
Living Czech Skiers
Go to all Rankings
Jaroslav Sakala
1969 - Present
HPI: 43.87
Jiří Parma
1963 - Present
HPI: 41.75
Kateřina Neumannová
1973 - Present
HPI: 40.63
Helena Šikolová
1949 - Present
HPI: 40.46
Jakub Janda
1978 - Present
HPI: 39.82
Ester Ledecká
1995 - Present
HPI: 39.80
Lukáš Bauer
1977 - Present
HPI: 38.69
Blanka Paulů
1954 - Present
HPI: 38.36
Květa Jeriová
1956 - Present
HPI: 37.20
František Jež
1970 - Present
HPI: 36.14
Olga Charvátová
1962 - Present
HPI: 35.19
Dagmar Švubová
1958 - Present
HPI: 33.89
