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'''James Frederic "Jimmie" Heuga''' (September 22, 1943 – February 8, 2010) was an [[United States|American]] [[Alpine skiing|alpine ski racer]] who became one of the first two members of the U.S. men's team to win an [[Winter Olympic Games|Olympic]] medal in his sport.<ref name=hkwfmame>{{cite news|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bUghAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3X8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=799,1258868|newspaper=Modesto Bee|title=Heuga, Kidd win first US men's alpine medals ever|agency=Associated Press|date=February 9, 1964|page=B7}}</ref> After [[multiple sclerosis]] prematurely ended his athletic career, he became an advocate of exercise and activity to combat the disease. |
'''James Frederic "Jimmie" Heuga''' (September 22, 1943 – February 8, 2010) was an [[United States|American]] [[Alpine skiing|alpine ski racer]] who became one of the first two members of the U.S. men's team to win an [[Winter Olympic Games|Olympic]] medal in his sport.<ref name=hkwfmame>{{cite news|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bUghAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3X8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=799,1258868|newspaper=Modesto Bee|title=Heuga, Kidd win first US men's alpine medals ever|agency=Associated Press|date=February 9, 1964|page=B7}}</ref> After [[multiple sclerosis]] prematurely ended his athletic career, he became an advocate of exercise and activity to combat the disease. |
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Born in [[San Francisco]], [[California]], Heuga grew up in [[Squaw Valley, Placer County, California|Squaw Valley]], [[California]], where his father Pascal (1909–2011), a [[Basque-American|Basque]] immigrant from southern France, opened a grocery store in 1945 in Lake Forest and later operated the [[Squaw Valley Ski Resort|resort's]] [[cable car]] (1968–1988).<ref name=petehga/><ref name=pph102>{{cite web|url=http:// |
Born in [[San Francisco]], [[California]], Heuga grew up in [[Squaw Valley, Placer County, California|Squaw Valley]], [[California]], where his father Pascal (1909–2011), a [[Basque-American|Basque]] immigrant from southern France, opened a grocery store in 1945 in Lake Forest and later operated the [[Squaw Valley Ski Resort|resort's]] [[cable car]] (1968–1988).<ref name=petehga/><ref name=pph102>{{cite web|url=http://skiinghistory.org/lives/pascal-%E2%80%9Cpete%E2%80%9D-heuga |publisher=Skiing Heritage|title=Pascual "Pete" Heuga, 102|last=Masia|first=Seth|date=August 29, 2011}}</ref> |
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Jimmie Heuga was on skis at age two and began to compete in the sport at age 5; he appeared in a [[Warren Miller (director)|Warren Miller]] ski film at age 9. Heuga was named to the [[United States Ski Team|U.S. Ski Team]] in 1958, becoming the youngest man ever to make the squad as a 15-year-old.<ref name="ucobuffsath">[http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4242&SPID=273&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=204883805 Plati, David. "CU SkiingIcon & Legend Jimmie Heuga Passes Away," University of Colorado Athletics, Tuesday, February 9, 2010.]</ref> |
Jimmie Heuga was on skis at age two and began to compete in the sport at age 5; he appeared in a [[Warren Miller (director)|Warren Miller]] ski film at age 9. Heuga was named to the [[United States Ski Team|U.S. Ski Team]] in 1958, becoming the youngest man ever to make the squad as a 15-year-old.<ref name="ucobuffsath">[http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4242&SPID=273&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=204883805 Plati, David. "CU SkiingIcon & Legend Jimmie Heuga Passes Away," University of Colorado Athletics, Tuesday, February 9, 2010.]</ref> |
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Revision as of 19:55, 10 January 2014
| Jimmie Heuga | |||||||||||||||
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| Full name | James Frederic Heuga | ||||||||||||||
| Born | September 22, 1943 San Francisco, California, U.S.[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Died | February 8, 2010 (aged 66) Boulder, Colorado | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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James Frederic "Jimmie" Heuga (September 22, 1943 – February 8, 2010) was an American alpine ski racer who became one of the first two members of the U.S. men's team to win an Olympic medal in his sport.[2] After multiple sclerosis prematurely ended his athletic career, he became an advocate of exercise and activity to combat the disease.
Born in San Francisco, California, Heuga grew up in Squaw Valley, California, where his father Pascal (1909–2011), a Basque immigrant from southern France, opened a grocery store in 1945 in Lake Forest and later operated the resort's cable car (1968–1988).[1][3]
Jimmie Heuga was on skis at age two and began to compete in the sport at age 5; he appeared in a Warren Miller ski film at age 9. Heuga was named to the U.S. Ski Team in 1958, becoming the youngest man ever to make the squad as a 15-year-old.[4]
He went to the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he met and was coached by Bob Beattie. A three-time letterman, Heuga won the 1963 NCAA championship in the slalom. With Beattie also leading the U.S. Ski Team, Heuga, along with fellow Buffaloes Buddy Werner and Bill Marolt (and future CU alumnus Billy Kidd), formed the squad's nucleus for the 1964 Winter Olympics. Both Kidd and Heuga became the first American men to win Olympic medals in Alpine skiing, respectively capturing silver and bronze in the slalom.[2][4]
- finished sixth in the slalom and fourth in the combined at the 1966 World Championships at Portillo, Chile
- joined the pro racing tour following the 1968 Winter Olympics where he was 7th in the slalom and 10th in the giant slalom.
- was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1970, which derailed his ski racing career at age 27.
- founder of Can Do Multiple Sclerosis, formerly The Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis.
- the first NASTAR National Pacesetter (1968)
Heuga died on February 8, 2010, at Boulder Community Hospital in Boulder, due to complications from multiple sclerosis,[5] exactly 46 years after he won his Olympic medal. The gold medalist in that slalom race, Pepi Stiegler, was also diagnosed with MS in 1993.[6]
References
- ^ a b Day, Lizzie (April 29, 2011). "Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe legend Pete Heuga dies at 102". Tahoe Daily Tribune.
- ^ a b "Heuga, Kidd win first US men's alpine medals ever". Modesto Bee. Associated Press. February 9, 1964. p. B7.
- ^ Masia, Seth (August 29, 2011). "Pascual "Pete" Heuga, 102". Skiing Heritage.
- ^ a b Plati, David. "CU SkiingIcon & Legend Jimmie Heuga Passes Away," University of Colorado Athletics, Tuesday, February 9, 2010.
- ^ "Former Olympic skier Heuga dies". The Associated Press. ESPN. February 8, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
- ^ Weber, Bruce (February 12, 2010). "Jimmie Heuga, an early U.S. ski medalist, dies at 66". New York Times.
External links
- Jimmie Heuga at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
- Ski-db.com – results – Jim Heuga
- mscando.org – Can Do Multiple Sclerosis
- University of Colorado Athletics – Hall of Fame – Jimmie Heuga
- Sport-Reference.com – Olympic results – Jimmy Heuga
- Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame – Jimmie Heuga
- Sports Illustrated – cover – 05-Feb-1968 – Olympics preview – Billy Kidd & Jimmie Heuga
- Sports Illustrated – 17-Feb-1964 article
- "Skiing History" Jimmie Heuga obituary with eulogy by Billy Kidd
- "Skiing Heritage" Biography of Jimmie Heuga by Seth Masia
- 1943 births
- 2010 deaths
- American male alpine skiers
- Alpine skiers at the 1964 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiers at the 1968 Winter Olympics
- American people of Basque descent
- Deaths from multiple sclerosis
- Olympic alpine skiers of the United States
- Olympic bronze medalists for the United States
- University of Colorado alumni
- Sportspeople from San Francisco, California
- Olympic medalists in alpine skiing
- Medalists at the 1964 Winter Olympics