Arturo Kinch (born 15 April 1956), a facilities project supervisor for Piedmont Airlines, is the athlete who convinced the International Olympic Committee to allow countries with no snow to compete in the Winter Olympic Games. Prior to the 1980 Olympic Games, only countries with winter conditions had participated. Through his efforts, Kinch was able to race at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic Games, as the first athlete to do so from a tropical country. His participation predates the Jamaican Bobsled team that was featured in the film, Cool Running. His Olympic performances embraced the original Olympic spirit; he is a true amateur rather than a professional athlete with corporate sponsorship. Additionally, Kinch was the only skier worldwide that competed as both an Alpine and Cross- Country racer. Following Lake Placid in 1980, Kinch also competed at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics 1984, the Calgary Winter Olympics 1988, the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics 2002, and the Torino Winter Olympics 2006. In 1982 he completed the 50 kilometer cross-country race at the Oslo Nordic World Championships and received the keys of Oslo from King Olav V of Norway. Kinch has been one of only three skiers from Costa Rica in Winter Olympic Games history, and is one of the longest Olympic participants in Olympic history.
Born the seventh child in a family that would grow to a total of eleven and the son of missionary parents in Costa Rica, Kinch moved to the US and then enrolled at Rockmont College (now Colorado Christian University) in 1974 on a soccer scholarship.
In college, Kinch played basketball to keep in shape but became a seldom-used reserve. His roommate invited Kinch to try out skiing to stay in shape, where he discovered his natural affinity for the sport. Kinch would score the most points on the ski team competitions, despite his inexperience, spurring coaches to encourage him to continue with the sport.
After he graduated from the College in 1979 with degrees in biblical studies, camping, and recreation, Kinch continued racing.
In 1978 he founded the Costa Rica Ski Association, initiating the arduous process of qualifying for the 1980 MCMLXXX Olympic Winter Games, after learning eligibility for international competition required membership in a national ski association. In Lake Placid Kinch competed as Costa Rica's first and only Olympic skier, followed by the 1982 Nordic World Championships, the 1984 MCMLXXXIV Olympic Winter Games, the 1988 MCMLXXXVIII Olympic Winter Games, the 2002 MMII Olympic Winter Games, and the 2006 MMVI Olympic Winter Games. In 2004 Kinch was inducted into the Colorado Christian University's Hall of Fame. CCU completed a new residence complex in 2019, Rockmont Hall, christening the complex's eatery as "Arturo's Cafe" to celebrate his exemplary, persevering, and inspiring sportsmanship to students.
Kinch is married, has six grandchildren, and lives in North Carolina.
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The Winter Olympic Games is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BCE to 394 CE. The Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1,500 years later in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority. The original five Winter Olympic Sports were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, and skating. The Games were held every four years from 1924 to 1936, interrupted in 1940 and 1944 by World War II, and resumed in 1948. Until 1992, the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games were held in the same year. A decision to change this was made in 1986, when during the 91st International Olympic Committee session, IOC members decided to alternate the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games on separate four-year cycles in even-numbered years. Also, at that same congress it was decided that 1992 Winter Olympics would be the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games and that to change the rotation, the games that would be held in 1996 would be brought forward by two years, being scheduled to 1994. After those games, the next were to be held in 1998 when the four-year Olympic Cycle resumed.
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States.
The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Oslo 1952, were a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, the capital of Norway.
The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February 4 and closed on February 13. It was the first time the Winter Games were held outside of Europe and the first of four Winter Olympics held in the United States; Lake Placid hosted again in 1980.
William Conrad Koch is an American cross-country skier who competed at the international level. A native of Guilford, Vermont, he is a graduate of the nearby Putney School in Putney. In 1974, he became the first American to win a medal in international competition, placing third in the European junior championships.
John Amos Shea, better known as Jack Shea or The Chief, was an American double-gold medalist in speed skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics. He was the first American to win two gold medals at one Winter Olympics, and was the patriarch of the first family with three generations of Winter Olympians. Along with his compatriot Irving Jaffee, he was the most successful athlete at the 1932 Winter Olympics.
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One athlete from Costa Rica competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
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Several tropical nations have participated in the Winter Olympics despite not having the climate for winter sports. Partly because of that, their entries are a subject of human interest stories during the Games. No tropical nation has ever won a Winter Olympic medal.
Ole Stenen was a Norwegian Nordic skier who competed in nordic combined and cross-country skiing in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Costa Rica sent a delegation to compete at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, United States from 13–24 February 1980. This was Costa Rica's debut appearance at a Winter Olympic Games, after five prior appearances at Summer Olympics. The only athlete sent by the country was alpine skier Arturo Kinch. In the only event he finished, the men's downhill, he placed 41st.
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Peter Graves is an American television sportscaster and public address announcer specializing in Olympic, lifestyle, and action sports. He is also a former cross-country skiing coach for Harvard University.
Isaac Menyoli is a Cameroonian architect and skier who was the first person to represent his country at the Winter Olympic Games when he took part in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He competed in the men's classical 10 km race in cross-country skiing, finishing 80th and last with a time of 45:40.3. He also took part in the 1.5 km sprint, where he finished 67th out of 71, with a time of 4:10.07, just behind Philip Boit of Kenya.
Prawat Nagvajara, born December 1, 1958, is a Thai academic and cross-country skier. He is the first person ever to have represented Thailand at the Winter Olympic Games, having taken part in the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics. Unsurprisingly, he was therefore his country's flagbearer at the Games' Opening Ceremonies on both occasions.
National Sports Academy was a private preparatory school for winter-sport athletes in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The academy was closed in 2015.
Erlon "Bucky" Broomhall is a Vermont skier, former junior olympic ski coach, and advocate of youth skiing. He is responsible for bringing the first girls' team to the Junior Olympics in 1968.