US Olympic athlete who competed in 2022 Beijing Games dies in motorcycle accident

A 24-year-old United States Olympic athlete who competed in the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games has died after being involved in a motorcycle accident, police say.

Authorities have not released any details about the incident Patrick Gasienica was involved in other than to say the accident happened on Monday night in the village of Bull Valley, located in Chicago's far northwestern suburbs, according to the Bull Valley Police Department. USA Nordic, the official body of American Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined, confirmed in a statement that the athlete had passed away at the age of 24.

Gasienica, a U.S. ski jumping athlete who was born in Oak Park, Illinois, and trained as a ski jumper at the Norge Ski Club about 40 miles northwest of Chicago, made his FIS Ski Jumping debut in 2015 and subsequently represented the United States at two FIS Junior World Ski Championships in 2016 and 2017 as well as the 2019 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships before going to Beijing to compete in the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing off Patrick Gasienica, an incredible athlete, teammate and person,” read a tweet from the U.S. Ski and Snowboard team. “Sending love to his family, friends and the entire ski jumping community.”

Gasienica finished 49th and 53rd in individual events in Beijing last year and finished in 10th place in a team competition alongside fellow teammates Casey Larson, Kevin Bickner and Decker Dean.

"We don't really have a lot of jumpers, but it's getting better," Gasienica said last year in China, according to the Associated Press. "Especially since the pandemic, a lot of different kids are joining the different clubs around America. Hopefully in a couple of years -- five, 10, maybe -- we'll have a really, really great team."

Said USA Nordic: “Patrick was an incredible competitor, teammate and friend. He will be dearly missed.”