Rok Petrovič

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:

World Cup results Season titles Season Discipline1986 Slalom

Season standings Season Age Overall Slalom Giantslalom 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 Season Date Location Discipline Position 1985 20 March 1985 Park City, United States Slalom 2nd 1986 1 December 1985 Sestriere, Italy Slalom 1st 21 December 1985 Kranjska Gora, Yugoslavia Slalom 1st 25 January 1986 St. Anton, Austria Slalom 2nd 2 February 1986 Wengen, Switzerland Slalom 1st 25 February 1986 Lillehammer, Norway Slalom 1st 2 March 1986 Geilo, Norway Slalom 3rd 11 March 1986 Heavenly Valley, United States Slalom 1st 1987 20 December 1986 Kranjska Gora, Yugoslavia Slalom 2nd