Rok Petrovič (5 February 1966 – 16 September 1993) was a Yugoslav and

Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Sloven ...

alpine

skier Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

. Petrovič was born in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, the son of Zdenka Steiner and Krešimir Petrović, a well known sports psychologist of Croatian origin. His first success in alpine ski racing was the 1983 Junior World Championship slalom title in

Sestriere Sestriere (/se'strjɛre/) ( oc, Sestrieras, pms, Ël Sestrier, french: Sestrières) is a ski resort in Piedmont, Italy, a ''comune'' (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Turin. It is situated in Val Susa, from the French border. Its name ...

, Italy. After this he rapidly advanced up the world slalom rankings. In the 1985–86

Alpine Skiing World Cup The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France ( ...

season, he was practically unbeatable in slalom, his competition left to wait for rare mistakes in his highly aggressive and innovative skiing style. That season he won 5 races, is second in St. Anton, Austria and third in

Geilo is a centre in the municipality of Hol in Viken county, Norway. Geilo is primarily a ski resort town, with around 2,500 inhabitants. It is situated in the valley of Hallingdal, 250 km from Oslo and 260 km from Bergen. The Bergen Line ...

, Norway, easily winning the World Cup slalom title and becoming the first Yugoslav with a crystal globe. After his championship-winning season, Petrovič was unable to recapture his winning form, the only hint of his championship season being a second place behind his teammate

Bojan Križaj Bojan Križaj () (born 3 January 1957) is a Slovenian, back then Yugoslavian, former alpine skier. During his international career he competed for the then-existing Yugoslavia. He competed at three Winter Olympics. Career Križaj, born in Kra ...

at the unforgettable race in

Kranjska Gora Kranjska Gora (; german: Kronau) is a town in northwestern Slovenia, on the Sava Dolinka River in the Upper Carniola region, close to the Austrian and Italian borders. It is the seat of the Municipality of Kranjska Gora. Name Kranjska Gora wa ...

next season. He finished eighth in the 1988

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

giant slalom. Due to his lack of winning results, he quit skiing in 1988 and began studies at the College of Sports in Ljubljana. He graduated in 1991 and continued with post-graduate study. He was to defend his M.Sc. thesis in the autumn of 1993, but shortly before defending his thesis he took a short break at the Croatian island

Korčula Korčula (, it, Curzola) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after K ...

and drowned in a diving accident. Altogether he won 5 World Cup races, all in slalom and all in his champion season in 1985-86:

World Cup results

Season titles

Season standings

Race podiums

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Petrovic, Rok 1966 births 1993 deaths Skiers from Ljubljana Yugoslav male alpine skiers Slovenian male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers for Yugoslavia Alpine skiers at the 1988 Winter Olympics Underwater diving deaths Accidental deaths in Croatia FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Slovenian people of Croatian descent