Rok Benkovič is a former Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

n ski jumper

Ski jumping

Ski jumping is a sport in which skiers go down a take-off ramp, jump and attempt to land as far as possible down the hill below. In addition to the length of the jump, judges give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long...

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Benkovič started with his sport career at the relatively advanced age of eleven, when he first participated in ski jumping in 1997. In Sollefteå

Sollefteå

Sollefteå is a locality and the seat of Sollefteå Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 8,530 inhabitants in 2005.The earliest written account on Sollefteå is found in a script dating back to 1270. During this time the name of the village was given as De Solatum - a name that can be...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, he won the silver medal at the Junior World Championship on February 6, 2003. His biggest success came at the 2005 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

2005 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2005 took place February 16-27, 2005 in Oberstdorf, Germany for the second time after hosting it previously in 1987. The ski jumping team normal hill returned after not being held in 2003...

 in Oberstdorf

Oberstdorf

Oberstdorf is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in southwest Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps.At the center of Oberstdorf is a church whose tall spire serves as a landmark for navigating around town. The summits of the Nebelhorn and Fellhorn provide...

, where he won the individual normal hill on February 19, 2005, making him the second Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

n to win a gold medal after that of Franci Petek

Franci Petek

Franci Petek is a Slovenian geographer and former ski jumper. Petek competed from 1990 to 1995. At the 1991 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme, Petek won a gold medal for Yugoslavia in the individual large hill....

 in 1991. The very next day, he won a bronze medal for the Slovenians in a team normal hill competition involving Primož Peterka

Primož Peterka

Primož Peterka is a former Slovenian ski jumper. He has won 15 World Cup events, making him the second most successful Slovenian winter sports athlete and one of the most successful Slovenian sports personalities.-Career:...

, Jure Bogataj

Jure Bogataj

Jure Bogataj is a Slovenian ski jumper who has competed since 2002. He won a bronze medal in the team normal hill event at the 2005 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf and finished 28th in the individual large hill at those same championships.-External links:...

 and Jernej Damjan

Jernej Damjan

Jernej Damjan is a Slovenian ski jumper who has competed since 2002. He won a bronze medal in the team normal hill event at the 2005 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf and finished 28th in the individual large hill at those same championships.Damjan's best individual finish at the...

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He also competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics

2006 Winter Olympics

The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

 in Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

, finishing 10th in the team large hill, 29th in the individual large hill, and 49th in the individual normal hill.

Benkovič held the Slovenian ski jumping record of 226m, set in Planica

Planica

Planica is an alpine valley in northwestern Slovenia, extending south from the border village of Rateče, not far from another well-known ski resort, Kranjska Gora. Further south, the valley extends into the Tamar Valley, a popular hiking destination in Triglav National Park.Planica is famous for...

 between 2005 until 2007, when his team mate Robert Kranjec

Robert Kranjec

Robert Kranjec is a Slovenian ski jumper who has competed since 1998. He won a bronze medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in the Team Large Hill event....

 set the new Slovenian record of 229m. In May 2007 Benkovič ended his career.

He lives in Kamnik

Kamnik

Kamnik is the name of a municipality in Slovenia as well as the town that serves as its administrative, cultural, economic, and educational center. The municipality is in north central Slovenia. It encompasses a large part of the Kamnik Alps and the surrounding area...

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