FILE PHOTO: Ueli Kestenholz from Switzerland passes a gate during qualification for the men's duel slalom World Championships ISF (International Snowboarding Federation) in Val di Sole, Italy January 28. SR/File Photo
ZURICH, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Swiss snowboarder and Olympic medallist Ueli Kestenholz, 50, has died after being buried in an avalanche on Sunday in the Loetschental region of Canton Valais, the Swiss skiing federation Swiss‑Ski said on Tuesday.
Kestenholz won a bronze medal in snowboarding's inaugural Olympic event, the giant slalom at Nagano in 1998.
He also secured multiple World Cup podiums, and retired from competition in 2006.
A statement from Valais police, which did not identify Kestenholz by name, said the avalanche swept the snowboarder from the eastern flank of the Hockuchriz peak around 2,400 metres (7,874 feet) up the mountainside.
A skiing companion he was with managed to escape the avalanche, police said.
(Reporting by Dave Graham;Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
