Hometown resident and star athlete Chris Klug will add another award to the long list of accolades the Olympic bronze medalist has to his name, when the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame inducts him into illustrious company next week in Aspen (April 9, 2016).
The three-time Olympian is the first and only athlete to ever earn a medal after an organ transplant, when he took home the bronze medal in snowboarding at the 2002 games in Salt Lake City following a successful surgery replacing his liver.
Today, he and his family live in Aspen; he created the Chris Klug Foundation to raise awareness for liver and tissue donation, and he is a frequent speaker and author of “To the Edge and Back.”
(Learn more about why Chris loves living in Aspen, and why its the perfect place to raise his family in the video below.)
He joins the legendary ranks of 18 athletes with Aspen connections before him who have also won such honors, including Bob Beattie, who headed the U.S. Ski Team in 1954 and helped set the World Cup ski circuit; and Klaus Obermeyer, who founded Sport Obermeyer and still lives in Aspen today. Other recent inductees who live in Aspen are John Clendenin, who was the director of the Aspen Ski School for 17 years and a longtime instructor; Christin Cooper, who won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympics in giant slalom; Bill Marolt, a 1964 Olympian and former CEO for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association; and Chris Davenport, two-time World Champion skier and premier ski mountaineer, who was inducted last year.
The induction ceremony is part of the International Skiing History Association’s annual Skiing History Week, which takes place in Aspen, April 5–10, 2016. Events during the week include lectures, parties, skiing and the ceremony, on Saturday, April 9, at the St. Regis Aspen.
On Wednesday, April 6, there will also be a free screening of “Downhill Racer,” a 1969 film written by James Salter (the late author who lived in the Roaring Fork Valley part-time) which is widely regarded as one of sports’ greatest films, at the Sky Hotel starting at 6 p.m.
About the Author
Christine Benedetti is the special sections editor for the Aspen Daily News and the marketing director for the Aspen Historical Society. She writes for a number of publications and puts out the popular "Peaks and Valleys" blog through Aspen 82. She has a BA in journalism from the University of Washington, and still loves the rain. She also serves on the boards for the Wheeler Opera House, Jazz Aspen Snowmass’ The Band, and the Next Generation Advisory Commission. And even though she loves living here, one of her favorite things to do is hop on a plane to explore other parts of this planet.