Jure Franko () (born 28 March 1962 in

Nova Gorica Nova Gorica () is a town in western Slovenia, on the border with Italy. It is the seat of the Municipality of Nova Gorica. Nova Gorica is a planned town, built according to the principles of modernist architecture after 1947, when the Treaty of pe ...

) is a

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

n- Yugoslav former alpine skier, best known for winning a

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding competitive discipline. It involves racing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in Slalom skiing, slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant sl ...

silver medal at the

1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian language, Serbo-Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: ; ) and commonly known as Sarajevo '84 (Serbian Cy ...

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

. Jure Franko was born and raised in

, a city in Slovenia at the border with

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Franko competed in giant slalom and super giant slalom events, and reached the peak of his skiing career in the 1983–84 season. On 14 February 1984, at the

, he won a silver medal in giant slalom. This was the first Winter Olympics medal ever for Yugoslavia. Franko was at the 4th position after the first leg of the giant slalom, and delivered the fastest time of the second leg, bringing him to second place overall ( Max Julen from

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

took gold). Franko also competed in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

competitions, where he placed himself 3rd three times. In addition, he achieved 23 top ten positions, and 11 additional top 15 positions. He quit skiing after the 1984–85 season. In January 2006, Jure Franko participated in the 2006 Winter Olympic

torch A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end which can be used as a light source or to set something on fire. Torches have been used throughout history and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggl ...

relay, by relaying the torch from Slovenia to Italy at the Slovenian-Italian border in

. He also organised a trip for 43 children of modest economic backgrounds from

and

Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...

to visit the giant slalom event at the 2006 Winter Olympic games in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, Italy. He is the ''"Honorary Citizen of Sarajevo"'', an honor bestowed upon Slovenian skier by the City Council of Sarajevo at the session held on 30 September 2020. Jure is sometimes confused with ''Jurij'' Franko, designer of the Elan SCX ski. The two attended the same school during the 1970s.Jurij Franko
"Right Ski, Wrong Jure"
''Skiing Heritage Journal'', June 2007, p. 47

World Cup results

Season standings

Race podiums

Olympic Games results

World Championships results

References

External links

IOC Athletes
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Franko, Jure 1962 births Living people Slovenian male alpine skiers Alpine skiers at the 1980 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1984 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Nova Gorica Olympic medalists in alpine skiing Medalists at the 1984 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiers for Yugoslavia Olympic silver medalists for Yugoslavia Winter World University Games medalists in alpine skiing FISU World University Games gold medalists for Yugoslavia Competitors at the 1985 Winter Universiade