Arturo Kinch

Arturo Kinch (born April 15, 1956 in Boulder (Colorado) , United States ) is a former winter athlete and the first participant in Costa Rica at the Winter Olympics .

He was born the seventh child of a missionary couple from Costa Rica. From 1975 he went with a football - scholarship to the rock Mont College in Colorado , now part of Colorado Christian University . Kinch came to alpine skiing to keep himself fit in winter and eventually became the best skier in his college. In 1979 he graduated with a degree in biblical studies and leisure and summer camp organization ( camping and recreation ). In 1978 he founded the Costa Rica Ski Association to take part in international competitions.

In Lake Placid 1980 , Arturo Kinch was the first and only Costa Rica Olympic participant. He started in the three alpine disciplines of downhill , giant slalom and slalom and reached 41st place in the downhill. At the Sarajevo Winter Games in 1984 , he formed a small Costa Rican team with the skier Eduardo Kopper and the biathlete Hernán Carazo . Kinch started in giant slalom and also in Nordic cross-country skiing over 15 km and 30 km. Four years later, he competed in the same disciplines in Calgary in 1988 . For the time being, this was his last participation in the Olympics.

With a view to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City near his home - Arturo Kinch works as a account manager for United Airlines in Denver - he began to participate in a few cross-country races again to qualify for the Games. In Salt Lake City, more precisely in Soldier Hollow , he started in the sprint and finished 67th in the lead. In 2006 in Turin he represented Costa Rica a fifth time at the Winter Olympics. As a 50-year-old he was 95th in classic cross-country skiing over 15 km and was the penultimate before the Thai Prawat Nagvajara .

His alma mater inducted Kinch into their Hall of Fame in 2004 .

Olympic results

1980

• Exit 41.
• Giant Slalom DNF
• Slalom DNF

1984

• Giant Slalom 67.
• Cross-country skiing 15 km classic 80.
• Cross-country 30 km classically disqualified

1988

• Giant Slalom 62.
• Cross-country skiing 15 km classic 82.
• Cross-country 30 km classic 87.

2002

• Cross-country sprint preliminary 67.

2006

• Cross-country skiing 15 km classic 95.

Web links

• Arturo Kinch in the database of the International Ski Federation (English), cross-country results from 2002
• Arturo Kinch in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Arturo Kinch in the Hall of Fame at Colorado Christian University