Jimmie Heuga, 1943-2010

The 18 year old who won the 1964 Olympic bronze medal in Slalom left us on Monday to trace endless arcs in the pale blue yonder where conditions are said to be always perfect and fluffy. I met Jimmie in 1977 when I arrived to work in the United States, at Beconta's in Elmford, New York. While he had been diagnosed with MS seven years before, he was still incredibly active, biking and giving himself to all kinds of outdoors endeavors out of his Rowayton home in nearby Connecticut.

Before he started his MS foundation, I had even met his dad, originally from the Basque Country, who was the Squaw Valley's tram conductor. It must be incredibly hard for a top athlete to see his physical faculties inexorably eroded and eventually extinguished by a ravaging ailment like multiple sclerosis. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, Jimmy was able to transmute his pain into a personal advocacy for advancing cures, treatment and attitudes against and about the disease. With all his accomplishments and the immense suffering he had to endure, Heuga's star now shines even brighter than any of his peers, even those who received more medals and skiing accolades than he ever did.