When he was growing up, Slovenian sportsman Franci Čop was a good tennis player but was more at home on the snow where he competed in ski jumping and Alpine ski races. In 1936 Čop was selected to represent Yugoslavia at the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Olympics where he finished 25th in the combined event. At the start of World War II he relocated to Wein before returning to Jesenice in 1944. His second appearance at the Olympics came at the 1948 St. Moritz Games, with him coming 36th in the slalom. From there Čop soon became the coach of the Yugoslav national skiing team, leading them at the 1952 Oslo and 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics. Back in Maribor he worked on improving the skiing facilities in the city, including building and installing a chairlift and becoming the director of the cable car company.
Yugoslavia
Slovenia