Snowboarder Ueli Kestenholz, Olympic bronze medallist, dies in avalanche
Keystone-SDA
Swiss snowboarder Ueli Kestenholz, bronze medallist at the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, died on Saturday when he was swept away by an avalanche in Valais. This was confirmed by Swiss-Ski in a statement on Tuesday.
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The accident took place in the Lötschental, on the eastern slope of the Hockuchriz, at an altitude of about 2,400 metres, a police note specifies, adding that there was also a skier at the scene who managed to save himself. Kestenholz, 50, was rescued by rescuers and transported by helicopter to hospital, first in Visp and then in Sion, where he died.
In 1998, Kestenholz made it onto the podium in the first snowboarding competition in Olympic history: the parallel giant slalom, Swiss-Ski said. During his competitive career, he also participated in the 2002 Olympics in alpine snowboarding.
He also claimed two gold medals in snowboardcross at the 2003 and 2004 X Games, and had a total of 14 World Cup victories. He had also been one of the pioneers of this same discipline at the 2006 Olympics in Turin.
After retiring from competitive sport in 2006, Kestenholz remained a professional athlete. He was a freerider, speedrider, paraglider pilot, kitesurfer, skydiver, surfer, wingfoiler, mountain biker, Swiss-Ski said, paying tribute to him and offering its condolences to his family and loved ones. “Swiss-Ski and the snowboard community are devastated.”
+ Majority of fatal ski accidents happen off-piste
Adapted from Italian by AI/ts
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