Swiss snowboarding figure Ueli Kestenholz, who clinched a bronze medal in his Olympic snowboarding debut, has tragically lost his life in an avalanche incident in Switzerland. He was 50 years old.
Kestenholz was snowboarding in the Rösschental valley in the canton of Valais when he was caught and buried by an avalanche on Sunday, as reported by the Swiss Ski Federation on Tuesday.
According to Valais State Police, Kestenholz was with a friend skiing in the valley when the avalanche occurred at around 7,900 feet (2,400 meters). The exact cause of the avalanche remains uncertain.
A friend managed to dig him out before Kestenholz was airlifted to a hospital.
Kestenholz gained recognition during the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics at the young age of 22, playing a pivotal role in snowboarding’s Olympic history. He secured the bronze medal in the parallel giant slalom, marking a significant milestone as the first Olympic snowboarder to achieve this.
After his Olympic success, he continued to compete professionally in extreme sports, participating in two additional Winter Games and becoming a two-time Snowboard Cross champion at the X Games.
The ski federation emphasized that Kestenholz should be remembered for his passion for snowboarding and described him as a “true crossover athlete.”
Following his retirement from competitive sports in 2006, he remained dedicated to outdoor activities until the end of his life. He explored various sports like free riding, speed riding, paragliding, kite surfing, and more, showcasing his adventurous spirit.
His Instagram often featured athletes engaged in thrilling sports outdoors. In one post, he noted that to embrace such moments of natural beauty, one must be ready to leave everything behind and venture out, sharing a video of him paragliding onto a frozen lake near St. Moritz.
