Norwegian Olympic skier Audun Groenvold died after being struck by lightning while on vacation at his family’s cabin. The Norwegian Ski Federation announced the 49-year-old’s passing on Wednesday. “Norwegian skiing has lost a prominent figure who has meant so much to both the alpine and freestyle communities,” the federation’s president, Tove Moe Dyrhaug, said in a statement, noting that “there will be a big void after Audun.” Groenvold, an Olympic bronze medalist who competed in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, was rushed to the hospital soon after being struck by lightning on Tuesday night, but died shortly after. The federation touted Groenvold as an “outstanding athlete on the national alpine team” and a “pioneer in Norwegian freestyle and ski cross.” “He showed a burning commitment to the sport of skiing both as an active player, coach and leader,” they wrote a statement. In addition to winning bronze at the 2010 Olympics, Groenvold also won bronze at the 2005 World Championships and won the overall ski cross cup in 2007. Groenvold’s wife, Kristin Tandberg Haugsjå, grieved her “great love and my best friend for twenty years” in a Facebook post, writing that “the loss of you is enormous.” The couple had three children together.
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