Giorgio Rocca

Last updated

Giorgio Rocca
Giorgio Rocca.jpg
Personal information
Born (1975-08-06) 6 August 1975 (age 48)
Chur, Grisons, Switzerland
Occupation Alpine skier
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Skiing career
DisciplinesTechnical events
Club C.S. Carabinieri
World Cup debut1993
Retired2010
Olympics
Teams2
Medals0
World Championships
Teams6
Medals3 (0 gold)
World Cup
Seasons18
Wins11
Podiums22
Overall titles0
Discipline titles1
Medal record
International alpine ski competitions
Event1st2nd3rd
World Championships 003
World Junior Championships 001
Total004
World Cup race podiums
Event1st2nd3rd
Slalom1164
Combined010
Total1174
World Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2003 St. Moritz Slalom
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2005 Bormio Slalom
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2005 Bormio Combined

Giorgio Rocca (born 6 August 1975) is an Italian former alpine skier, a specialist in slalom skiing. Together with Marc Girardelli, Ingemar Stenmark and Marcel Hirscher, he is one of four skiers to have won 5 Alpine Skiing World Cup slaloms in a row, which he achieved in the 2005/2006 season: only Alberto Tomba (7) has won more World Cup slaloms consecutively. [1] He is currently ninth in the list of all-time slalom winners, with a total of 11 victories. [2]

Contents

Biography

Rocca was born in Chur, Switzerland. [3] His father is Italian from Livigno and his mother is Romansh from Scuol in the Lower Engadine. He made his debut in the Alpine Skiing World Cup on 6 January 1996 in Flachau. However, Rocca broke his right knee and was forced off the tour for a year. In March 1997 he scored his first point-scoring result in the World Cup, at the Shigakogen slalom. He scored his first top ten finish in November 1998, at the Aspen slalom.

One year later Rocca finally secured his first podium finish, scoring a third place in the renowned Kitzbühel slalom. In 1999 he won the bronze medal at the Alpine World Skiing Championships in Vail. Rocca began to be considered the legitimate heir of Italy's Alberto Tomba, who had just retired. This responsibility however, seemed to crush Rocca and stunted his progress, together with another knee accident.

After two difficult seasons, in 2001 Rocca was again on the podium, with second places in Aspen and Madonna di Campiglio. In January 2003, after another 2nd in the Sestriere slalom, Rocca finally won his first World Cup race on the Lauberhorn piste at Wengen in Switzerland. In the 2005 season he took two victories at Chamonix and Flachau, and two bronze medals at his home World Championship in Bormio, in the slalom and the combined. Rocca won again in February 2005, this time at Kranjska Gora, and for a while was in contention for the Slalom World Cup title for the season. [4] [5]

Rocca started the 2005/2006 season with an impressive series of five wins a row in the first five slalom races. He explained his notable improvements from a psychological point of view, as he had taken advantage of the help of a team of psychologists to solve the alleged fragility that had thwarted him in past seasons.

Rocca currently lives in Livigno. In his career he competed for C.S. Carabinieri.

He recited the Olympic oath at the 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony. It was at these Olympics that he was hoping to win gold in his strongest event: slalom, after his great success in the world championships, so he decided to focus on this event. He did not enter the Giant Slalom or Super-G as originally planned, however he did compete in the Combined race where he placed 5th with a total time of 3:10.74. In the Slalom he was the first starter but he straddled at the second gate, throwing away his chances of being champion.

In January 2010, Rocca confirmed his retirement from competition, bringing forward plans to end his racing career at the end of the season due to his sustaining a groin injury in training which prevented him from competing at the 2010 Winter Olympics. [6]

World Cup results

Overall

SeasonDiscipline
2006 Slalom

Individual victories

DateLocationRace
19 January 2003 Wengen Slalom
16 March 2003 Lillehammer Slalom
11 January 2004 Chamonix Slalom
22 December 2004 Flachau Slalom
9 January 2005 Chamonix Slalom
27 February 2005 Kranjska Gora Slalom
4 December 2005 Beaver Creek Slalom
12 December 2005 Madonna di Campiglio Slalom
22 December 2005 Kranjska Gora Slalom
8 January 2006 Adelboden Slalom
15 January 2006 Wengen Slalom

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermann Maier</span> Austrian alpine skier

Hermann Maier is an Austrian former World Cup champion alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. Nicknamed the "Herminator", Maier ranks among the greatest alpine ski racers in history, with four overall World Cup titles, two Olympic gold medals, and three World Championship titles. His 54 World Cup race victories – 24 super-G, 15 downhills, 14 giant slaloms, and 1 combined – rank third on the men's all-time list behind Ingemar Stenmark's 86 victories and Marcel Hirscher's 67 victories. Until 2023 he held the record for the most points in one season by a male alpine skier, with 2000 points from the 2000 season. From 2000–2013 he also held the title of most points in one season by any alpine skier, until Tina Maze scored 2414 points in the 2013 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberto Tomba</span> Italian alpine skier

Alberto Tomba is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Italy. He was the dominant technical skier in the late 1980s and 1990s. At 182 cm and 90 kg, his powerful build was a contrast to the lighter, more traditional technical skiers who prioritised agility over muscle. Tomba was able to take advantage of the introduction of spring-loaded ski gates which replaced the older, solid gates in the early 1980s by using his power to maintain a faster, more direct line through courses. Tomba won three Olympic gold medals, two World Championships, and nine World Cup season titles: four in slalom, four in giant slalom, and one overall title. He was popularly called Tomba la Bomba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kjetil Aamodt</span> Norwegian alpine ski racer and TV host

Kjetil André Aamodt is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Norway, a champion in the Olympics, World Championships, and World Cup. He is one of the most successful alpine ski racers from Norway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jure Košir</span> Slovenian alpine skier

Jure Košir (; born 24 April 1972 is a former Slovenian alpine skier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005–06 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup</span>

The 40th World Cup season began in October 2005 and concluded at the World Cup finals in Åre, Sweden, in March 2006. The schedule included a nearly month-long break in February for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piero Gros</span> Italian alpine skier (born 1954)

Piero "Pierino" Gros is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from northwestern Italy. He won the gold medal in slalom at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, and was the World Cup overall champion in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deborah Compagnoni</span> Italian alpine skier

Deborah Compagnoni is an Italian former Alpine skier who won three gold medals at the 1992, 1994, and 1998 Winter Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gustav Thöni</span> Italian alpine skier

Gustav Thöni is an Italian retired alpine ski racer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Fill</span> Italian alpine skier

Peter Fill is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from northern Italy. Born in Brixen, South Tyrol, he formerly competed in all disciplines, and later focused on the speed events of downhill, super-G, and combined. Fill won the World Cup season title in downhill in 2016 and in 2017, and the combined title in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armin Bittner</span> German alpine skier

Armin Bittner is a German former alpine skier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Šárka Strachová</span> Czech alpine skier

Šárka Strachová is a retired Czech World Cup alpine ski racer. Born in Benecko, she specializes in the slalom event. Strachová is the first alpine racer representing the Czech Republic to medal at the Winter Olympics and at the World Championships and just the second Czech alpine skier ever to medal in the Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manfred Mölgg</span> Italian alpine skier

Manfred Mölgg is an Italian former World Cup alpine ski racer. He specialized in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ana Drev</span> Slovenian alpine skier

Ana Drev is a Slovenian World Cup alpine ski racer. She specializes in the giant slalom and started her first European Cup race at age 15 on February 24, 2001, in Rogla, Slovenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcel Hirscher</span> Austrian alpine skier

Marcel Hirscher is an Austrian-Dutch former World Cup alpine ski racer. Hirscher made his World Cup debut in March 2007. He competed primarily in slalom and giant slalom, as well as combined and occasionally in super G. Winner of a record eight consecutive World Cup titles, Hirscher has also won 11 medals at the Alpine Skiing World Championships, seven of them gold, a silver medal in slalom at the 2014 Winter Olympics, and two gold medals in the combined and giant slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Due to his record number of overall titles and many years of extreme dominance of both slalom and giant slalom, he is considered by many, including his former rivals Henrik Kristoffersen, Kjetil Jansrud and Alexis Pinturault, to be the best alpine skier in history. He won a total of 67 World Cup races, ranking second on the male all-time list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federica Brignone</span> Italian alpine skier (born 1990)

Federica Brignone is an Italian World Cup alpine ski racer. She competes in all alpine disciplines, with a focus on giant slalom and super-G. Brignone won the World Cup overall title in 2020, becoming the first Italian female to achieve this feat. She is also an Olympic and World Championship medalist. At the 2022 Winter Olympics, she won a silver medal in the giant slalom and a bronze in the combined.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giuliano Razzoli</span> Italian alpine skier

Giuliano Razzoli is a World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from Italy. He specializes in the slalom; he won the Slalom at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henrik Kristoffersen</span> Norwegian alpine skier

Henrik Kristoffersen is a Norwegian World Cup alpine ski racer, World Champion, and Olympic medalist. He specializes in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petra Vlhová</span> Slovak alpine skier (born 1995)

Petra Vlhová is a Slovak World Cup alpine ski racer who specialises in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom. Vlhová won the World Cup overall title in 2021 and the gold medal in the 2022 Winter Olympics in the slalom event, becoming the first Slovak skier to achieve these feats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AJ Ginnis</span> Greek-American alpine skier (born 1994)

Alexandros Ioannis "AJ" Ginnis is a Greek-American World Cup alpine ski racer. Ginnis specializes in the technical events, with a focus on slalom. He made his World Cup debut in December 2014 and gained his first podium in February 2023. He then won the silver medal in the 2023 World Championships.

Tanguy Nef is a Swiss alpine skier.

References

  1. ↑ "Coppa del Mondo: i record di vittorie consecutive nelle varie specialità" (in Italian). scimagazine.it. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  2. ↑ "Giorgio Rocca - Athlete Information". fis-ski.com. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  3. ↑ "Giorgio Rocca profile". Olympedia.org. OlyMADmen . Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  4. ↑ "COMPETITORS HAVING MORE THAN ONE PODIUM". fis-ski.com. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  5. ↑ "COMPETITORS HAVING MORE THAN ONE TOP 10 POSITION". fis-ski.com. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  6. ↑ Meadows, Mark (9 January 2010). O'Brien, John (ed.). "Retiring Rocca ruled out of Vancouver". reuters.com . Retrieved 28 January 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.