14 Facts About Giorgio Rocca

Giorgio Rocca was born on 6 August 1975 and is an Italian former alpine skier, a specialist in slalom skiing.

Giorgio Rocca is currently ninth in the list of all-time slalom winners, with a total of 11 victories.

Giorgio Rocca's father is Italian from Livigno and his mother is Romansh from Scuol in the Lower Engadine.

Giorgio Rocca 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.

Giorgio Rocca scored his first top ten finish in November 1998, at the Aspen slalom.

One year later Giorgio Rocca finally secured his first podium finish, scoring a third place in the renowned Kitzbuhel slalom.

Giorgio Rocca began to be considered the legitimate heir of Italy's Alberto Tomba, who had just retired.

In January 2003, after another 2nd in the Sestriere slalom, Giorgio Rocca finally won his first World Cup race on the Lauberhorn piste at Wengen in Switzerland.

Giorgio 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.

Giorgio Rocca 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.

Giorgio Rocca recited the Olympic oath at the 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony.

Giorgio Rocca 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 January 2010, Giorgio 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.