Rok Petrovic
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Rok Petrovič (born February 5 1966 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, died September 16 1993 in Vela Luka, Croatia) was a Slovenian alpine skier.
Rok is a son of 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 Sestrieres, 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 Saint Anton, Austria and third in Geilo, Norway, easily winning the World Cup slalom title and becoming the first Slovenian with a crystal globe.
After his championship-winning season, Petrovic was unable to recapture his winning form, the only hint of his championship season being a second place behind his teammate Bojan Kriaj at the unforgetable 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 takes a short break at the Croatian island Korčula and drowns during in a diving accident.
Altogether he won 5 World Cup races, all in slalom and all in his champion season in 1985-86:
| Date | Ski resort | Country |
|---|---|---|
| December 1 1985 | Sestrieres | Italy |
| December 22 1985 | Kranjska Gora | Slovenia |
| February 2 1986 | Wengen | Switzerland |
| February 25 1986 | Hafjell | Norway |
| March 11 1986 | Heavenly Valley | USA |