Former American Olympic ski star Patrick Gasienica dies at age 24 after ‘crashing his motorcycle while driving home’
- Patrick Gasienica represented the US at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing
- He was born in Illinois and trained at the Norge Ski Club before his death
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Former Olympic ski jumper Patrick Gasienica passed away on Monday evening at the age of 24, USA Nordic announced.
According to The daily herald from a Chicago suburb, Gasienica was riding a motorcycle after work Monday afternoon when he crashed.
He was returning to his home in McHenry, Illinois when the accident happened.
“USA Nordic Sport’s thoughts and condolences are with his family, friends and the ski jumping community,” the organization said in a statement.
Gasienica represented the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Patrick Gasienica to compete in Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics for men’s team ski jumping
Gasienica, seen for a wedding last year, was only 24 years old when he died
Gasienica competing in the Men’s Large Hill Individual Trial Round for Qualification on Day 7 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
Gasienica posted this photo last summer while in Denver Colorado
He finished 49th on the normal hill and 53rd on the big hill.
Gasienica also represented the USA at two Junior World Championships in 2016 and 2017, and the 2019 Nordic World Championships.
“Patrick was a well-loved ski jumper in the jumping community,” his Norge Ski Club coach Scott Smith told the Daily Herald.
“Our hearts are truly broken and Patrick will be forever missed.”
from Gasienica latest Instagram post was a video of him doing ski jumps, with hordes of tributes posted in the comments over the past day.