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Swiss snowboarder Ueli Kestenholz, who took bronze at the Giant Slalom at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, has died at the age of 50 after being trapped in an avalanche in the Swiss Alps, the Swiss Ski Federation announced in a tribute shared on Tuesday (January 13).
“His life was far too short,” the Swiss Ski Federation said in a translated statement. “Swiss-Ski and the snowboard community are devastated."
Swiss-Ski President Peter Barandun also issued a statement saying the federation “extend[s] our deepest condolences to Ueli's family and loved ones," including Kestenholz’s two children.
Kestenholz was snowboarding on a remote slope in the Swiss Alps with a friend who was skiing at the time of the avalanche that was triggered for unknown reasons, according to a statement shared by Valais police. Kestenholz was trapped and buried under the snow while his friend was able to make it out on his own and pulled him out with assistance from the Valais Cantonal Rescue Organization.
The snowboarder was later pronounced dead at the hospital on Sunday (January 11). Kestenholz represented Switzerland in the first-ever Olympic snowboarding event held at the Nagano Games in 1998, taking bronze in the parallel giant slalom event.
The Swiss Ski Federation credited Kestenholz as being “among the pioneers at the Olympic premiere of snowboard cross in Turin in 2006.”