Svetolik Drenovac began his rowing career in Beograd as a highschool student in the late 1930s, first as a member of the BOB Rowing Club. A member of the the Crvena zvezda (Red Star) rowing club in the 1940s, he was a member of the eights crew that represented Yugoslavia at the 1948 London Olympics. The Yugoslav boat finished second in its preliminary heat to the eventual champion Americans and was eliminated in the ensuing repêchage. Drenovac later was the longtime secretary of the Crvena zvezda club.