Bojan Križaj


Bojan Križaj is a Slovenian, back then Yugoslavian, former alpine skier. During his international career he competed for the then-existing Yugoslavia. He competed at three Winter Olympics.

Career

Križaj, born in Kranj, was a member of a well known Tržič ski family so he started skiing at the age of 3. In the season 1976/77 he received the first World Cup point, qualified among the 15 best slalom runners and later during that season in Madonna di Campiglio he hit his first top 3 podium. On 20 January 1980 he achieved the first Yugoslav World Cup victory in Wengen, Switzerland and later he won seven more times, thus still being Yugoslavia's and Slovenia's most successful male alpine skier to date.
At 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, U.S., he reached the fourth place in giant slalom, missing the bronze medal by only two hundredths of a second. Four years later he took the athlete's oath at the opening ceremony for Sarajevo's 1984 Winter Olympics. He caused a stir when he spoke the oath not in Croatian or Serbian but in Slovene. Despite great expectations of the Yugoslav audience he finished ninth in giant slalom, much less than expected. Križaj should also have competed at 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, but he got injured a few days before the event.
His most successful World Championship was in 1982 in Schladming, Austria where he received the silver medal in slalom.
His most successful World Cup season was 1986/87 when he received the small crystal globe for the season's best slalom runner. Beside that he was the second in World Cup slalom standings in the 1979/80 and 1985/86 seasons and third in the 1980/81 season. His best position in overall World Cup standings was the 4th place in 1979/80.
He concluded his career in 1988 at the race in Saalbach, Austria where he stepped off the skis right at the end of the track and walked into the finish area.
Since his skiing retirement he worked in many fields, including as importer of Austrian brand beer and adviser for ski products in Elan company.
In March 2006 he became Head of Slovenian Ski Pool.

World Cup results

Season titles

Season standings

Race podiums

SeasonDateLocationDisciplinePosition
197813 December 1977 Madonna di Campiglio, ItalySlalom3rd
197922 December 1978 Kranjska Gora, SloveniaGiant slalom3rd
19797 January 1979 Courchevel, FranceGiant slalom3rd
19794 February 1979 Jasna, CzechoslovakiaGiant slalom2nd
197913 March 1979 Heavenly Valley, United StatesGiant slalom2nd
19808 December 1979 Val d'Isere, FranceGiant slalom2nd
198011 December 1979 Madonna di Campiglio, ItalySlalom2nd
198012 December 1979 Madonna di Campiglio, ItalyGiant slalom3rd
198020 January 1980 Wengen, SwitzerlandSlalom1st
198027 January 1980 Chamonix, FranceSlalom2nd
19819 December 1980 Madonna di Campiglio, ItalySlalom3rd
19816 January 1981 Morzine, FranceGiant slalom3rd
198125 January 1981 Wengen, SwitzerlandSlalom1st
198115 March 1981 Furano, JapanSlalom2nd
198220 March 1982 Kranjska Gora, YugoslaviaSlalom1st
198312 February 1983 Markstein, FranceSlalom1st
198323 February 1983 Taernaby, SwedenSlalom3rd
198320 March 1983 Furano, JapanSlalom3rd
198413 December 1983 Courmayeur, ItalySlalom2nd
198422 January 1984 Kitzbühel, AustriaSlalom3rd
198516 December 1984 Madonna di Campiglio, ItalySlalom1st
198513 January 1985 Kitzbühel, AustriaSlalom3rd
19861 December 1985 Sestriere, ItalySlalom2nd
198616 December 1985 Madonna di Campiglio, ItalySlalom2nd
198614 January 1986 Berchtesgaden, GermanySlalom2nd
19862 February 1986 Wengen, SwitzerlandSlalom3rd
198621 March 1986 Bromont, CanadaSlalom1st
198720 December 1986 Kranjska Gora, YugoslaviaSlalom1st
198721 December 1986 Hinterstoder, AustriaSlalom2nd
198718 January 1987 Wengen, SwitzerlandSlalom3rd
198725 January 1987 Kitzbühel, AustriaSlalom1st
198721 March 1987 Sarajevo, YugoslaviaSlalom2nd
198816 December 1987 Madonna di Campiglio, ItalySlalom3rd

Olympic Games results

World Championships results

From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing.