Wojciech Fortuna

Wojciech Fortuna’s surname turned out to be apt when he became Poland’s first Winter Olympic Champion in 1972. Only selected for Sapporo at the last minute, Fortuna was a virtual unknown in the ski jumping world. His first jump in the large hill event, 111 m, meant an overrun of the safety zone. Judges briefly discussed a re-arrangement of the starting position (and re-start of the competition), but Fortuna’s result was allowed to stand. Wind severely influenced the event, and Fortuna’s jump remained the longest of the first round. He struggled in the second jump with just 87.5 m, but retained the lead by a narrow 0.1 points. The Olympic gold remained his only significant career win.