View source for Rok Petrovič

{{Short description|Slovenian alpine skier}}
{{No footnotes|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox alpine ski racer
|name           = Rok Petrovič
|image          = 
|disciplines    = [[Giant slalom]], [[Slalom skiing|slalom]]
|club           = 
|birth_date     = {{birth date|df=y|1966|2|5}}
|birth_place    = [[Ljubljana]], [[Socialist Republic of Slovenia|SR Slovenia]], [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|SFR Yugoslavia]]
|death_date     = {{death date and age|df=y|1993|9|16|1966|2|5}}
|death_place    = [[Vela Luka]], Croatia
|height         = 
|wcdebut        = 10 December 1984
|retired        = 10 March 1989
|website        = 
|olympicteams   =
|olympicmedals  = 0
|olympicgolds   = 0
|worldsteams    =
|worldsmedals   = 0
|worldsgolds    = 0
|wcseasons      = 5
|wcwins         = 5
|wcpodiums      = 9
|wcoveralls     = 0
|wctitles       = 1
}}

'''Rok Petrovič''' {{audio|Sl-Rok Petrovič.oga|listen}} (5 February 1966 – 16 September 1993) was a [[Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] and [[Slovenes|Slovenian]] alpine [[skier]].

Petrovič was born in [[Ljubljana]], [[Yugoslavia]], the son of Zdenka Steiner and [[Kresimir Petrovic|Krešimir Petrović]], a well known [[sports psychologist]] of [[Croats|Croatian]] origin. His first success in alpine ski racing was the 1983 Junior World Championship [[Slalom skiing|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 {{clarification needed  span|text=innovative skiing style.|reason=What was "innovative" about it?  Please provide a brief explanation, and a reliable citation.|date=February 2025}} That season he won 5 races, is second in [[St. Anton]], Austria and third in [[Geilo]], Norway, easily winning the World Cup [[Slalom skiing|slalom]] title and becoming the first [[Yugoslavia|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==
===Season titles===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Season
! Discipline
|-
| rowspan="1"|'''[[1986 Alpine Skiing World Cup|1986]]''' || [[Slalom skiing|Slalom]]
|}

===Season standings===
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
! Season
! Age
! Overall
! Slalom
! Giant<br/>slalom
! Super-G
! Downhill
! Combined
|-
| [[1985 Alpine Skiing World Cup|1985]] || ''18'' || 30 || 16 || 16 || — || — || —
|-
| [[1986 Alpine Skiing World Cup|1986]] || ''19'' || 7 || bgcolor="gold"| 1 || 7 || — || — || —
|-
| [[1987 Alpine Skiing World Cup|1987]] || ''20'' || 33 || 11 || 27 || — || — || —
|-
| [[1988 Alpine Skiing World Cup|1988]] || ''21'' || 69 || 26 || — || — || — || —
|-
| [[1989 Alpine Skiing World Cup|1989]] || ''22'' || 68 || 34 || 31 || — || — || —
|-
|}

===Race podiums===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:100%;"
! Season
! Date
! Location
! Discipline
! Position
|-
| align=center| '''[[1985 Alpine Skiing World Cup|1985]]''' 
| align="right" | 20 March 1985
| align="left"| {{flagicon|USA}} [[Park City Mountain Resort|Park City]], United States 
| | [[Slalom skiing|Slalom]]
| | 2nd
|-
| rowspan="7" align=center| '''[[1986 Alpine Skiing World Cup|1986]]'''
| align="right" bgcolor="#BOEOE6" | 1 December 1985
| align="left" | {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Sestriere]], Italy
| bgcolor="#BOEOE6" | Slalom
| bgcolor="#BOEOE6" | '''1st'''
|-
| align="right" bgcolor="#BOEOE6" | 21 December 1985
| align="left" | {{flagicon|YUG}} [[Kranjska Gora]], Yugoslavia
| bgcolor="#BOEOE6" | Slalom
| bgcolor="#BOEOE6" | '''1st'''
|-
| align="right" | 25 January 1986
| align="left" | {{flagicon|AUT}} [[St. Anton]], Austria
| | [[Slalom skiing|Slalom]]
| | 2nd
|-
| align="right" bgcolor="#BOEOE6" | 2 February 1986
| align="left" | {{flagicon|SUI}} [[Wengen]], Switzerland
| bgcolor="#BOEOE6" | Slalom
| bgcolor="#BOEOE6" | '''1st'''
|-
| align="right" bgcolor="#BOEOE6" | 25 February 1986
| align="left" | {{flagicon|NOR}} [[Lillehammer]], Norway
| bgcolor="#BOEOE6" | Slalom
| bgcolor="#BOEOE6" | '''1st'''
|-
| align="right" | 2 March 1986
| align="left" | {{flagicon|NOR}} [[Geilo]], Norway
| | Slalom
| | 3rd
|-
| align="right" bgcolor="#BOEOE6" | 11 March 1986
| align="left" | {{flagicon|USA}} [[Heavenly Valley]], United States
| bgcolor="#BOEOE6"| Slalom
|bgcolor="#BOEOE6" | '''1st'''
|-
| align=center| '''[[1987 Alpine Skiing World Cup|1987]]'''
| align="right" | 20 December 1986
| align="left" | {{flagicon|YUG}} [[Kranjska Gora]], Yugoslavia
| | Slalom
| | 2nd
|-
|}

==External links==
* {{sports links}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ach|aw}}
{{succession box |
  | before = [[Dražen Petrović]]
  | after = [[Bojan Križaj]]
  | title = [[Sportske novosti awards#Yugoslav competition (1950–1990)|Yugoslav Sportsman of the Year]]
  | years = 1986
|}}
{{s-end}}
{{Footer Slalom World Cup Winners Men}}
{{Slovenian Sportsman of the Year}}
{{Authority control}}

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