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Ueli Kestenholz, the Swiss snowboarding pioneer who won bronze in snowboarding’s Olympic debut, died after an avalanche in Switzerland. He was 50 years old.
Kestenholz was snowboarding Sunday in the Lötschental valley in Valais when he was swept away and buried by the avalanche, the Swiss ski federation said Tuesday.
He was with a friend skiing in the valley when the avalanche began at an altitude of 2,400 meters (7,900 feet), Valais police said in a statement. Authorities said it was still unclear what caused the avalanche.
The friend pulled the trapped Kestenholz out before a helicopter took them to a hospital, police said.
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Nagano snowboard bronze winner Ueli Kestenholz presents his medal on Monday, February 16, 1998 in front of the town hall of his hometown of Thun, Switzerland. (Edi Engeler/Keystone via AP)
Kestenholz helped write Olympic snowboarding history when he rose to fame at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, at just 22 years old.
That year’s Games marked the debut of snowboarding as an Olympic event. Kestenholz took home the bronze medal for Switzerland in the parallel giant slalom, the first snowboarding decision in Olympic history, the Swiss ski federation said.
Ueli Kestenholz of Switzerland passes a gate during qualifying for the ISF (International Snowboard Federation) Men’s Dueling Slalom World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy, on January 28, 1999. (Reuters)
The Swiss racer participated in two more Winter Games, was a two-time X-Games snowboardcross champion and continued his professional career in extreme sports.
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The ski federation said Kestenholz should be remembered not only for his love of snowboarding, but also for being “a true crossover athlete.”
“After retiring from competitive sports in 2006, he remained a professional outdoor athlete, until his last breath,” the federation said, noting that Kestenholz was a freerider, speedrider, paraglider, kitesurfer, skydiver, surfer, wingfoiler and mountain biker.
Switzerland’s Ueli Kestenholz, right, is hugged by a teammate after winning the bronze medal in the debut of the Olympic giant slalom snowboarding in Shiga Kogen, Japan, February 8, 1998. Kestenholz came from tenth place in the first run to claim third position. Canadian Ross Regagliati took gold. (Reuters)
The Olympic medalist’s Instagram account showed numerous photographs of the athlete practicing extreme sports outdoors.
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“To enjoy those rare moments when nature’s wonders align, you must be prepared to drop everything and move on.” he wrote in a video post showing him paragliding and landing on frozen lakes near St. Moritz.
