Swiss snowboarder and Olympic medallist Ueli Kestenholz has died after being buried in an avalanche in the Loetschental region of canton Valais, Swiss Ski confirmed on Tuesday. He was 50 years old.
Kestenholz won a bronze medal in the giant slalom at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, marking snowboarding's debut as an Olympic sport. He went on to claim multiple World Cup podium finishes before retiring from competitive snowboarding in 2006.
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According to Valais police, the avalanche occurred on Sunday on the eastern flank of the Hockuchriz peak at an altitude of around 2,400 metres. The statement did not name Kestenholz, but Swiss Ski later confirmed his identity.
A skiing companion who was with Kestenholz at the time managed to escape the avalanche unharmed. Tributes quickly followed, remembering Kestenholz as a pioneer of Swiss snowboarding and a key figure in the sport's early Olympic history.