Tone Pogačnik

Anton "Tone" Pogačnik (January 4, 1919 – June 2013)[1] was a Slovenian cross-country skier who participated in the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland. He was born in Jesenice. In the Men's 18 km competition, he placed 56th with a time of 1'29:08. He also placed 9th with the Yugoslavian team in the Men's 4x10 km relay.[2]

On April 26, 1946 Pogačnik nearly fell to his death on Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia, after falling down a gap of 96 meters. He survived with no serious internal injuries. After becoming confused and lost in the fog, he approached a dark section that he believed to be a rock structure, but was actually a drop. He landed on a snowy field between two rocky pillars and became stuck, having to wait several hours before being rescued. The next day, he descended the same route alone. Pogačnik celebrated his 90th birthday in 2009. His wife died in 1999.[3][4][5] From the death of Karlo Umek on September 25, 2010[6] until his own, he was the oldest living Slovenian Olympic athlete.[7][8]

References
  1. "Umrl Tone Pogačnik, najstarejši slovenski zimski olimpijec" (in Slovenian). Dnevnik. 2013-06-27. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
  2. Gjerde, Arild; Jeroen Heijmans; Bill Mallon; Hilary Evans (2009). "Tone Pogačnik Biography and Statistics". Olympics. Sports Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  3. Hižar, Tina; Mitja Košir (2007-10-23). "Za trikrat štiri metre višji Triglav" (in Slovenian). Dnevnik.sl. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  4. Savenc, Franci (2002-02-10). "Prvi "polet" v svobodi – in to kar s Triglava". News (in Slovenian). gore-ljudje.net. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  5. Pogachnik, Vid (2009-01-28). "Tone Pogacnik - A ski flight into Triglav north wall". SummitPost. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  6. "Umrl je Karlo Umek, najstarejši slovenski olimpijec". Dolenjski List (in Slovenian). 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
  7. "Klub olimpijcev predlagal ustanovitev solidarnostne fundacije, ki bi finančno pomagala olimpijcem v težavah". Other Sports (in Slovenian). Dnevnik.sl. 2009-02-28. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  8. Karel Klančnik died in 2009
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