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Rok Petrovič

Slovenian alpine skier

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Rok Petrovič (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 rose in the world slalom rankings. During the 1985–86 Alpine Skiing World Cup season, he won five slalom races, finished second in St. Anton, Austria and third in Geilo, Norway. He won the World Cup slalom title and became the first Yugoslav skier to receive 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:

Rok Petrovič at InterSportStats

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