Albin Rogelj

Slovenia’s Albin Rogelj had two very different careers, the first as a ski jumper, and the second as one of the most famous caricaturists in the country.

Rogelj was first noticed on the international ski jumping scene with a 110 metre jump at an international event in Planica in 1950. This jump was a national record that stood until 1991 when it was broken by Miran Tepeš. After several top-10 finishes he was selected to represent Yugoslavia at the 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics. In the large hill event he finished in 23rd place out of the 51 starters. In 1970 the ski jumping club SSK Ilirija Ljubljana was formed with Rogelj designing the club’s logo.

From 1953 to 1990 Rogelj worked as caricaturists for the weekly magazine Pavliha, often under the shortened names of Bine Rogelj or Bine. In 1985 he became the magazine’s chief editor until the publication ceased five years later. From 1979 to 2001 Rogelj worked for the magazine Pionirski List where he drew a teen-based comic strip.