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Rok Petrovič

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Rok Petrovič
Personal information
Born(1966-02-05)5 February 1966
Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia
Died16 September 1993(1993-09-16) (aged 27)
Vela Luka, Croatia
OccupationAlpine skier
Skiing career
DisciplinesGiant slalom, slalom
World Cup debut10 December 1984
Retired10 March 1989
Olympics
Medals0 (0 gold)
World Championships
Medals0 (0 gold)
World Cup
Seasons5
Wins5
Podiums9
Overall titles0
Discipline titles1

Rok Petrovič listen (5 February 1966 – 16 September 1993) was a Yugoslav and Slovenian alpine skier.

Petrovič was born in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia, 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, Italy.

After this he rapidly advanced up the world slalom rankings. In the 1985–86 Alpine Skiing World Cup 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, 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 at the unforgettable race in Kranjska Gora next season. He finished eighth in the 1988 Winter Olympic Games 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 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

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Season titles

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Season Discipline
1986 Slalom

Season standings

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Season Age Overall Slalom Giant
slalom
Super-G Downhill Combined
1985 18 30 16 16
1986 19 7 1 7
1987 20 33 11 27
1988 21 69 26
1989 22 68 34 31

Race podiums

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Season Date Location Discipline Position
1985 20 March 1985 United States Park City, United States Slalom 2nd
1986 1 December 1985 Italy Sestriere, Italy Slalom 1st
21 December 1985 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Kranjska Gora, Yugoslavia Slalom 1st
25 January 1986 Austria St. Anton, Austria Slalom 2nd
2 February 1986 Switzerland Wengen, Switzerland Slalom 1st
25 February 1986 Norway Lillehammer, Norway Slalom 1st
2 March 1986 Norway Geilo, Norway Slalom 3rd
11 March 1986 United States Heavenly Valley, United States Slalom 1st
1987 20 December 1986 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Kranjska Gora, Yugoslavia Slalom 2nd
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Awards
Preceded by Yugoslav Sportsman of the Year
1986
Succeeded by