Zdeněk Remsa (29 December 1928 – 22 June 2019) was a Czech ski jumper who represented Czechoslovakia at the 1948 Winter Olympics. Born in Horní Branná, he emerged in the immediate post‑war era when international winter sport resumed. Contemporary accounts remember him both for his years as an athlete and for long‑term involvement in the sport at national and local levels. A concise biographical overview can be found via national sports archives here.

Competitive career

Remsa competed at the Games in St. Moritz in 1948, the first Winter Olympics held after World War II. Those Games reestablished international competition and drew athletes who had trained under difficult post‑war conditions. Remsa took part in the classical ski jumping events of the period; for general context about the sport and its scoring see ski jumping profiles, and for specifics on the 1948 program consult dedicated summaries of the Games here.

Later roles and influence

After his active competitive years Remsa remained connected to skiing communities. Over subsequent decades many athletes of his generation worked as coaches, trainers or sport officials, helping to sustain and develop ski jumping practice in Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic. Remsa is generally regarded as part of that continuity: advising younger jumpers, sharing experience from international competition, and supporting local winter‑sport clubs.

About ski jumping

Ski jumping tests speed, take‑off timing, balance and flight position: competitors descend an inrun, launch from a take‑off table and attempt to land at maximum safe distance while maintaining style. Events are commonly described as normal hill or large hill competitions; judges award points for distance and style. Equipment, hill profiles and techniques have evolved since Remsa’s era. For information about St. Moritz and its historical role as a host of winter events see material here.

Legacy

  • Born in Horní Branná, Czechoslovakia, on 29 December 1928.
  • Competed at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz.
  • Remained active in skiing circles as a coach, mentor and supporter of ski jumping.
  • Died on 22 June 2019 at the age of 90.

Remsa’s life reflects the trajectory of mid‑20th century winter sport in Central Europe: an athlete who competed internationally in a recovering post‑war period and who continued to contribute to the development and continuity of ski jumping in his country.