(ASPEN, Colo., January 28, 2010) – Chris Klug, 2002 Olympic Bronze Medalist and founder of America’s Snowboard Team, secured one of the few spots available to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, B.C. At age 37, Klug has the best combined race results on the World Cup of any American Snowboard racer and leads the FIS World Cup Parallel in overall standings for Americans in 12^th. After making a dramatic comeback, Klug will be competing in his third Olympics as the oldest rider on the U.S. Olympic Team.

Riding with a broken wrist and hand through all five qualifying competitions, Klug faced a challenging journey to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. He encountered his largest obstacle last summer when he and three other alpine snowboarders were dropped from the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association and forced to find independent means to train for the Olympics and vie for a spot on Team USA.

Klug is the only current U.S. Olympic snowboarder to have competed in the 1998 Japan Winter Olympics where he placed sixth. In 2002 in Salt Lake City, he finished third in the parallel giant slalom only eighteen months after receiving a life-saving liver transplant. Klug’s dreams to return to the Olympics in 2006 were shattered after he lost an appeal regarding technicalities in the Olympic qualifying system. This past Sunday, Klug secured his place on the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team when he finished eighth in the Quebec World Cup parallel giant slalom in Stoneham, Quebec, Canada – his second top 10 finish in five Olympic qualifiers. 

Klug will not only ride for Gold during the upcoming Winter Olympic Games, but will ride for a purpose: to advocate organ and tissue donation awareness. Early in his career, Klug was struck with a rare liver disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis that almost killed him, until he received a liver transplant in 2000.

He then went on to win a Bronze Medal at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, making Klug the first ever transplant recipient Olympic Medalist. In 2004, Chris established the Chris Klug Foundation (www.chrisklugfoundation.org), an organization dedicated to promoting organ and tissue donation and improving the quality of life for donors, transplant recipients and their families. 

  “I’m really happy – at 37, I am competing in my third Olympics and riding fast,” said Klug. “It’s going to be a lot of fun in Vancouver. I think I’ve got a great shot.” Klug added, “In addition, the Olympics provide me an amazing opportunity to share the important message of organ donation loud and clear.”

 Overcoming adversity in pursuit of Olympic dreams, Klug – along with professional boarders Zac Kay, Josh Wylie and Erica Mueller – created America’s Snowboard Team. AST is an independent program designed to provide a premier training environment and support in preparation for the World Cup race season and the Olympic qualifying competitions. The team hired legendary alpine snowboarding coach Rob Roy and U.S. Open Snowboarding Champion Ian Price to train them for the competitions.

Alpine snowboarding is a technically demanding sport. In Klug’s event, the Olympic parallel giant slalom snowboard event, boarders race downhill reaching extreme speeds in excess of 40 miles per hour in a competitive head-to-head format. Alpine boarders navigate around a series of gates that force large radius giant slalom turns. Ten runs complete the competition.

To learn more about Chris Klug and AST, visit www.americassnowboardteam.com. America’s Snowboard Team is supported by the following sponsors: Hooters, BCF and Aspen/Snowmass.

America’s Snowboard Team®, is the first independent, professional snowboard organization in the United States created by athletes with the mission to raise the profile of alpine snowboarding and provide a premier training environment for Olympic hopefuls. Visit www.americassnowboardteam.com for more information. For media information and digital images, visit www.astpressroom.com.