Justyna Kowalczyk, a former world-class cross-country skier, mourns the death of her late husband Kacper Tekieli. © Newspix / Imago
Terrible news for double Olympic champion Justyna Kowalczyk: The former top cross-country skier mourns the death of her husband Kacper Tekieli.
Warsaw – "He was my everything," is the simple Instagram message of former world-class cross-country skier Justyna Kowalczyk. On Friday, May 19, she posted a picture of herself and her late husband Kacper Tekieli online. He died a few days earlier in a gruesome avalanche death.
| Justyna Kowalczyk | |
|---|---|
| Born: | 19 January 1983 (age 40 years), Limanowa, Poland |
| Cross-country skiing successes (among others): | Olympic gold (2), Overall World Cup (4), World Championships (2) |
| Family: | Kacper Tekieli (†), Hugo Tekieli |
Husband dies a gruesome death: a stroke of fate for winter sports legend Justyna Kowalczyk
Kowalczyk had won pretty much everything there was to win in her cross-country skiing career. To this day, she is considered a legend of the sport, at the Olympics she won two golds, one silver and two bronzes. She won 50 World Cup races, won the overall World Cup four times, triumphed four times at the Tour de Ski and became world champion twice. Now the Pole has to accept her biggest defeat.
What happened? A few days ago, her husband Kacper had set out on a climbing tour to the Jungfrau in the Bernese Oberland. There, on Wednesday, May 17, the tragedy should finally occur, as Polish media reported. Tekieli was caught in an avalanche, the bad weather made it impossible for the rescue workers to rush to his aid. A helicopter was therefore only able to fly to the scene of the accident on Thursday, May 18, where Tekieli's lifeless body was found.
Kacper Tekieli dies in avalanche accident: He leaves behind Olympic heroine and two-year-old son
The experienced climber, who had already climbed several eight-thousanders, was only 38 years old. He is survived by his 40-year-old wife, whom he married in 2020, and their two-year-old son Hugo. Kowalczyk's manager Malgorzata Ziemba told the Norwegian daily Dagbladet. "We're not going to make a statement about death at this time."
Every year there are countless avalanche accidents. Many of them end in death. The two young Italian cross-country skiers Ylvie and Marit Folie were active at the championships in April when their mother was buried under a snow roller and died. Tekieli was traveling alone, in the past few days he had repeatedly posted pictures of his foray through the Alps on Instagram.
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The latest news between Tekieli and Kowalczyk? "We love you more, my darling"
The apparently last contact sends shivers down your spine. A picture can be seen on Tekieli and Kowalczyk's Instagram accounts. Tekieli greets from the snow, underneath are obviously the last messages between the climber and his family: "May 17, 2023 Virgo (4158 m). 10:12 a.m.: - PHOTO. I love you, kittens. - We love you more, my darling. Well done."
The caption ends with a final greeting from wife Justyna: "Good night, my wonderful Kacper."
