What a parallel: On a special day, U.S. skier shines

Chris Klug, a liver recipient, reaches the snowboarding final on Organ Donor Day.

Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 15, 2002

PARK CITY, Utah -- With one swift, successful trip down the mountain, snowboarder Chris Klug sent a message to the world.

It had nothing to do with winning or losing.

Klug added another amazing chapter to his recovery from liver-transplant surgery 19 months ago by qualifying for the final of the parallel giant slalom Thursday.

In the most fortuitous twist of all, he did it on National Organ Donor Day, a cause in which Klug has a tremendous interest.

"I'm lucky to be here today," Klug said. "Without the gift of the donor family, I wouldn't be here today. They're the real heroes. I'm trying to get the message out."

On a glorious day at the Park City Mountain Resort, snowboard racers did their thing in front of about 16,000. It was their biggest crowd ever, and it included about 75 of Klug's friends and family. They stood near the finish line to cheer and hold up blue foam fingers that read, "Chris Klug, No. 1."

"We know him, so it was very easy for his family to believe he could do it," said Klug's brother, Jim. "I think it was a surprise to everybody else. I mean, what are the odds?"

Klug will tell you that 16 people on the transplant list die every day waiting for organs.

The 29-year-old will have another chance to use the Olympics as his platform today, when he'll be seeded 11th in the final.

The 16 qualifiers are placed in an NCAA tournament-like draw, with No. 1 vs. No. 16, No. 2 vs. No. 15 and so on. They race side-by-side twice, and the one who either sweeps the races or finishes with the lowest combined time in case of a split advances.

"I've won from the first position and from the 16th position, and from almost everywhere in between," Klug said. "You've just got to go out there and play the game."

Klug took to the mountain first and finished in 37.17 seconds. A long wait ensued, but only 10 riders passed him.

Seeded first in the men's draw is Gilles Jaquet of France, who finished in 35.69 seconds. Next is Alexander Maier of Austria, brother of the great Alpine skiing star Hermann Maier, who couldn't compete here because of injuries in a motorcycle accident in August.

Americans Jeff Greenwood (20th) and Peter Thorndike (27th) failed to qualify.

Like Klug, Lisa Kosglow finds herself alone among Americans in the women's parallel giant slalom. She qualified seventh, but U.S. favorite Rosey Fletcher spun out early and wound up 26th.

Fletcher was thought to have the best chance among American women to take a medal, but the popular Alaskan will sit out the final along with teammates Sondra Van Ert (17th) and Lisa Odynski (27th).

"There's nothing I can do now," Fletcher said, a smile on her face as she held back tears. "The race is over, I tried to do my best, and it didn't work out."

Maria Kirchgasser of Austria won the qualifying in 41.44 seconds despite feeling under the weather. In second, .01 seconds behind, was 1998 Olympic gold medalist Karine Ruby of France.

Nine years ago, Klug, a former high school football star, was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a rare disorder that slowly eats away at the bile ducts' ability to function.

It was the same disease that killed Walter Payton on Nov. 1, 1999. Klug heard that news while driving to a training camp in Utah, and for the first time he realized the seriousness of the disease, even though he hadn't yet felt any major effects.

Over the next nine months, his condition got worse, then suddenly he became a prime candidate for a liver transplant. His donor was a 13-year-old boy from the Denver area who had been accidentally shot in the head by a neighbor messing with a gun.

Klug's life, and his snowboarding career, remain in full bloom thanks to the family's generosity. He hasn't met them, but says every race he wins, and every moment he's alive, is dedicated to them.

"They've saved my life and allowed miracles like what I've gone through today," Klug said.

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