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Swiss snowboarder Ueli Kestenholz, who secured a bronze medal in the sport’s inaugural Olympic race, has died at the age of 50 after being caught in an avalanche, the Swiss ski federation announced on Tuesday.
Kestenholz achieved third place in the snowboard giant slalom at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. This event gained significant attention when Canadian gold medalist Ross Rebagliati fought to retain his title following a positive cannabis test.
The Swiss athlete participated in two more Winter Olympics, won the snowboardcross championship twice at the X-Games, and pursued a professional career in extreme sports.
Kestenholz was snowboarding with a friend, who was skiing, on Sunday in the Lötschental valley in the Valais canton. The avalanche occurred
at an altitude of 2,400 meters (7,900 feet) for reasons still unknown, according to a statement by Valais police.
Kestenholz was buried under the snow but was assisted by his friend before being airlifted by helicopter to a hospital, first to Visp and then to Sion near Crans-Montana.
Swiss daily Berner Zeitung was the first to report on Tuesday that Kestenholz was the victim.
Recent posts on his Instagram account showed footage of Kestenholz paragliding and landing on frozen lakes near St. Moritz. He wrote, “To enjoy those rare moments when nature‘s wonders align you need to be ready to drop everything and go!” he wrote.
The skiing companion he was with managed to escape the avalanche, police said.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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