Liver recipient Klug settles for seventh in Vancouver Olympic Games

See my recent post about Chris Klug who received a liver transplant in 2000 and with tremendous determination transformed himself into an Olympic athlete. Although Chris didn't win a medal in Vancouver he is an inspiration to us all and continues to be an advocate for organ and tissue donation.


Aspen Daily News
The Roaring Fork Valley’s last chance for a medal at the Vancouver Olympic games came up short on Saturday.

Aspen’s Chris Klug, in his third Olympic appearance, finished 7th in the men’s snowboarding parallel giant slalom event on Vancouver’s Cypress Mountain.

Klug made it to the semi-finals of the event, where he was bested by Slovenia’s Zan Kosir. Klug was behind more than a second and a half in both of the round’s two runs.

Veteran Canadian snowboarder Jasey-Jay Anderson took the gold — and his first Olympic medal — while Benjamin Karl, of Austria, won silver, and Mathieu Bozzetto, of France, edged out Russia’s Sanislav Detkov for the bronze.

Klug has the best American finish in the event, with Tyler Jewell, of Steamboat Springs, placing 13th overall.

Thirty-seven-year-old Klug has two top-eight results in World Cups this season, including fifth — one spot behind Jewell — in Krieschberg, Austria. His first Olympic experience came in 1998 in Nagano, Japan. He is also the only organ transplant recepient to ever medal (a bronze in the 2002 Salt Lake City games).

“For me, first and foremost, I love doing the sport and that’s why I’m here,” Klug told the Aspen Daily News last week. “But a huge motivating factor for me to continue snowboarding and pursue a third Olympic bid was the opportunity to share a message that’s really important to me, and that is the life-saving message of organ and tissue donation. I’m here today because of it.”

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Register to be an organ and tissue donor & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.