Swiss snowboarder Ueli Kestenholz, who won a bronze medal in the sport’s first Olympic event, has died after being caught in an avalanche, the Swiss ski federation said on Tuesday. He was 50. Kestenholz finished third in the snowboard giant slalom at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. The event was part of snowboarding’s Olympic debut and drew attention after Canada’s gold medallist Ross Rebagliati faced a challenge to his title following a positive cannabis test. Kestenholz later competed at two more Winter Olympics. He also won the snowboardcross title twice at the X-Games and continued to be active in extreme sports after his competitive career.Kestenholz was snowboarding with a friend who was skiing on Sunday in the Lötschental valley in the canton of Valais, according to Valais police, as cited by news agency Associated Press. The avalanche occurred at an altitude of about 2,400 metres. The cause of the avalanche is not known. Police said Kestenholz was buried under snow and was assisted by his friend before being taken by helicopter to hospital. He was first flown to Visp and later transferred to Sion, near Crans-Montana. Swiss newspaper Berner Zeitung was the first to report on Tuesday that the victim was Kestenholz. Recent posts on his Instagram account showed videos of him 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.
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