President of the Republic of Slovenia granted state decorations for success in the field of ski jumping

Due to his exceptional achievements in sports and efforts in establishing Slovenia as the global sports nation, and for being an inspiration to young people, the Golden Order of Merit was awarded to Peter Prevc, a Slovenian hero, a great champion, and the Eagle of Planica, the 23-year old ski jumper from Selška dolina Valley, who kept Slovenian excited for the entire winter season with his record ski jumps on big hills around the world. Today's recipient of the Golden Order is the only ski jumper in the entire history of ski flying who, in the same season, won the Big Crystal Globe, the Four Hills Tournament prize and the total ski flying ranking and also became the world champion in ski flying. His victories included all four of the most prestigious wins in ski flying and he set multiple records, including the total number of points, the total number of podium finishes, and the total length of jumps. The incredible success of Peter Prevc, who mesmerised Slovenia and the world with his personality, puts him in the class of athletes who made history in world-class sports and set new milestones in human abilities. In his speech, Prevc addressed President of the Republic of Slovenia, expressing his utmost respect for the decoration, which he accepted with additional awareness of responsibility due to his young age as he will have to justify this stately honour for many years to come. He also thanked the workers at his club, his coaches, parents and everyone who contributed to his incredible success.
The Silver Order of Merit was awarded to Janez Gorišek for engineering and technical contributions to the development of ski jumping and flying. Janez Gorišek is a Slovenian civil engineer who, in a visionary manner, included his world-class expertise into the construction of ski jumps and ski flying hills, and his engineering work considerably contributed to the development of ski flying in Slovenia and the world. In his speech at today’s ceremony, the recipient of the decoration, who is a master of his craft and one of the greatest ski jumping and ski flying hill constructors in the world, addressed the people of Slovenia, saying that: “we must be innovative, brave, and focused. We must live for our nation, for the people, and also for our sentiments.” Gorišek is the most important person to continue the magnificent legacy of Stanko Bloudek and Ivan Rožman. When the Gorišek brothers undertook the additional construction on the Planica Flying Hill in 1969, they said: “If we were the first ones to jump over 100 m in Planica, let us then jump over 200 m as well.” The statement of reasons for the conferral of decoration states that, without Janez Goršek, the Planica hill in his beloved valley under the Ponce Mountains, the Slovenian sport, and the ski jumping and flying around the world would not be what they are today.

The Order of Merit was also granted to the entire team of ski jumping coaches comprised of Goran Janus, Jani Grilc, Nejc Frank and Matjaž Polak, for their contribution to the world-class achievements of the national A-team in ski jumping. Head Coach Goran Janus, a ski jumper himself, thanked the President on behalf of all coaches. As a forejumper who once jumped 205.5 m, Janus was the first Slovenian ski jumper in Planica who jumped over 200 m. He thanked the President on behalf of the entire team and said that "this decoration is a nice opportunity to once again reflect on the beautiful memories and the many successes that we achieved with the boys." "Hard work, perseverance, the team spirit, and compassion are our guiding principles from season to season," Janus concluded his acceptance speech after receiving a decoration in the field of ski jumping. As the statement of reasons for the conferral of the decoration says, the success of the Slovenian national A-team in ski jumping would not have happened without the expert leadership, sacrifice, and courage of the coaches. The skill to be able to create a true mixture of perseverance, motivation, ambition, solidarity, and competitiveness is a mastership that only world-class teams can achieve. And the team of Slovenian ski jumpers is world-class.

Performance by Slovenian singer Nina Pušlar, who sang the ski jumper's favourite song “Ljubim” (Eng. “I love”) from the Cvetje v Jeseni musical (Eng. “Flowers in Autumn”), was a special surprise at today’s ceremony honouring the recipient of state decoration, the Golden Eagle Peter Prevc.

Photo: STA/Daniel Novakovič