Ueli Kestenholz, Olympic bronze medalist, killed in Switzerland avalanche

Ueli Kestenholz, the Swiss snowboard pioneer who won bronze at snowboarding’s Olympic debut, has died after an avalanche in Switzerland. He was 50.

Kestenholz was snowboarding Sunday in the Lötschental valley of Valais when he was swept away and buried in the avalanche, the Swiss ski federation said Tuesday.

He was with a friend who was skiing in the valley when the avalanche started at an altitude of 7,900 feet (2,400 meters), Valais police said in a statement. Officials said it remained unclear what triggered the avalanche.

The friend dug out the trapped Kestenholz before a helicopter airlifted them to a hospital, police said.

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Ueli Kestenholz, snowboard bronze winner in Nagano, presents his medal on Feb. 16, 1998, in front of the town hall in his hometown of Thun, Switzerland. (Edi Engeler/Keystone via AP)

Kestenholz helped write Olympic snowboarding history when he was thrust into the spotlight at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, at just 22 years old.

The Games that year marked snowboarding’s debut as an Olympic event. Kestenholz took home the bronze medal for Switzerland in the parallel giant slalom — the first snowboard decision in Olympic history, the Swiss ski federation said.

Ueli Kestenholz passes a gate during qualification for the men’s duel slalom World Championships, International Snowboarding Federation, in Val di Sole, Italy, Jan. 28, 1999. (Reuters)

The Swiss racer competed at two more Winter Games, was twice snowboardcross champion at the X-Games and continued a 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 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, speed rider, paraglider pilot, kite surfer, skydiver, surfer, wingfoiler and mountain biker.

Ueli Kestenholz is embraced by a teammate after taking the bronze medal in the debut of Olympic giant slalom snowboarding in Shiga Kogen, Japan, on Feb. 8, 1998. Kestenholz came from 10th place in the first run to claim the third position. Canada’s Ross Regabliati took gold. (Reuters)

The Olympic medalist’s Instagram account showed numerous photos of the athlete taking part in extreme sports outdoors.

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“To enjoy those rare moments when nature’s wonders align you need to be ready to drop everything and go!” he wrote in one post of a video showing him paragliding and landing on frozen lakes near St. Moritz.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.