BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Snowboarder Ueli Kestenholz, who won a bronze medal in the sport’s first Olympic race, died after being trapped in an avalanche, the Swiss ski federation said Tuesday. He was 50.
Kestenholz was third in snowboard giant slalom at the 1998 Nagano Olympics — a debut event that became a story of the games when Canadian gold medalist Ross Rebagliati fought to keep his title after a positive test for cannabis.
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.
Kestenholz was snowboarding with a friend who was skiing Sunday in the Lötschental valley of Valais canton (state). The avalanche started at an altitude of 2,400 meters (7,900 feet) for unknown reasons, Valais police said in a statement.
Kestenholz was trapped by snow and helped by his friend before being airlifted by helicopter to the hospital, first to Visp then to Sion which is close to Crans-Montana.
Swiss daily Berner Zeitung first reported Tuesday the victim was Kestenholz.
Recent posts on his Instagram account included film of Kestenholz paragliding and landing on frozen lakes near St. Moritz.
“To enjoy those rare moments when nature‘s wonders align you need to be ready to drop everything and go!” he wrote.
___
AP Winter Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
