As of: March 2, 2024, 12:10 p.m
By: Alexander Kaindl
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Olympic champion Wendy Holdener mourns the loss of her brother and manager Kevin.
He was only 34 years old - he fought cancer for almost half his life.
Unteriberg – These are dark times for Olympic ski champion Wendy Holdener: The Swiss is mourning her late brother Kevin these days.
He was only 34 years old.
Ski star shows “our last picture together”: Brother fought against rare illness for 14 years
The highly decorated skier has now uploaded a photo to Instagram - and written touching words about it.
The black and white shot shows Wendy and Kevin, both dressed finely, both laughing.
The background suggests that the two are probably in a hospital.
Wendy Holdener’s message: “Our last picture together.
Can't and don't want to believe that you are gone.
Rips my heart out when I think about living without you.” In German: “Our last picture together.
Can't and won't believe that you're gone.
Rips my heart out to think of living without you.”
Neureuther, Odermatt and Straßer react to Wendy Holdener's emotional farewell
Below the photo there are numerous greats from skiing who express their condolences.
Felix Neureuther also commented and left a heart emoji.
Frida Hansdotter, Marco Odermatt, Marco Büchel, Tina Maze, Julien Lizeroux – the list of winter sports celebrities goes on and on.
German slalom ace Linus Straßer wrote: “My condolences Wendy.”
Kevin Holdener had been seriously ill for 14 years.
He suffered from a complex and rare form of cancer.
“The cancer thwarted Kevin’s dream of having his own skiing career.
“But Kevin impressed us with his will to survive and his zest for life, he bravely stood up to the disease and was able to gain a few more valuable years of life from it,” said a statement published by Swiss-Ski.
The Holdener family mourns Kevin – the sad fate of cancer
The family also said goodbye to Kevin Holdener with touching words.
In the statement, Wendy Holdener wrote: "Early on the morning of February 22nd, Kevin, my brother, confidant and manager, the son of my parents, brother of Steve and husband of Carmen, passed away at the age of only 34."
The sad fate of cancer also hit winter sports a good year ago: Elena Fanchini died after a tragic story of suffering.
(akl)