Chris Klug competed in both the 1998, 2002, and 2010 Winter Olympics as a snowboarder, winning a silver medal in 2002, but his appearance there was the important thing. Klug suffered from primary sclerosing cholangitis, a liver disease diagnosed in 1991, and between Olympics, he went into liver failure, threatening his life. But he survived via a liver transplant performed in Denver in July 2000, and at Salt Lake City, became the first transplant recipient to ever compete in the Olympic Games. At the 2002 US Transplant Games, he was chosen to light the torch opening the Games.
Klug became US amateur slalom and Super-G snowboarding champion in 1989 and began competing on the professional circuit as a high school sophomore. After graduation he became a full-time professional snowboarder and eventually won four World Cup races, three Grand Prix titles, and five US titles. He retired from competition after the 2002 Winter Olympics and has formed the Chris Klug Foundation and Donor Dudes to spread awareness of the need for organ donors.
United States