Olympic medalist Jimmie Heuga, a star of the 1964 Olympic Winter Games and one of the U.S. Ski Team's greatest ski racers, died Monday, February 8. His death came on the eve of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and 46 years to the day after Heuga won the '64 Olympic bronze medal. He was 66.

While Heuga gained worldwide acclaim for his 1964 Olympic medal, his real mark on society came after he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and dedicated his life to research and innovative treatment of the disease.

"Jimmie Heuga was a champion in every sense of the word," said U.S. Ski Team President and CEO Bill Marolt, who skied with Heuga on the 1964 Olympic Team. "He was a champion as an athlete, as a person and any way you want to measure him.

"We always talk about toughness - you heard about it in the Super Bowl this weekend," added Marolt. "When I look back at all the athletes I've known, pound for pound, Jimmie Heuga was the toughest I've ever met. He was a five-foot-six, 140 pound guy who didn't back down from anybody. That's the kind of toughness you need to be a champion."

Related: 2010 Winter Olympics

_{Photo Jimmie Heuga and Billy Kidd Copyright U.S. Ski Team/Tom Kelly}

U.S. Olympic Medalist Jimmie Heuga Dies originally appeared on About.com Skiing on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 01:00:09.

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