Jon Kreamelmeyer (born 1947) is an American

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

coach and a member of the

Paralympic Hall of Fame The Visa Paralympic Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which was established by the International Paralympic Committee. On 30 August 2012 five paralympic athletes were inducted into the fourth ''Visa Paralympic Hall of Fame'' in a ceremony in Lond ...

Early life and career

Kreamelmeyer was born and raised in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. He graduated from

Dakota Wesleyan University Dakota Wesleyan University (DWU) is a private Methodist university in Mitchell, South Dakota. It was founded in 1885 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The student body averages slightly fewer than 800 students. The campus of the ...

with a degree in Education and began teaching at Summit County High School in

Frisco, Colorado Frisco is a home rule municipality located in Summit County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 2,913 at the 2020 United States Census. Frisco is a part of the Breckenridge, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is a popular town amo ...

, where he served as assistant ski coach from 1977 until 1986 and the head ski coach until 1991. From 1996 to 2002, Kreamelmeyer served on the Frisco Town Council and in 2003 was elected to the Summit School District Board of Education. He remained on the board until 2011, serving terms as vice president and president. In 2012, he was recognised for his contributions to the community with a ''Frisco Finest'' award.

Paralympics

At the

1992 Winter Paralympics The 1992 Winter Paralympics (french: Jeux paralympiques d'hiver de 1992) were the fifth Winter Paralympics. They were the first Winter Paralympics to be celebrated with the International Olympic Committee cooperation. They were also the first ...

, held in

Tignes Tignes () is a commune in the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France, known for the highest skiable area and the longest ski season in Europe. It is located in the Savoie region with good tr ...

and

Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...

, France, Kreamelmeyer acted as the sighted guide for blind skier Michele Drolet in cross-country skiing events. The pair finished fifth in the women's long distance 10 km B1, in a time of one hour 10 minutes 6.8 seconds and sixth in the women's short distance 5 km B1 in 25 minutes 58.4 seconds. He competed at his second Paralympic Games in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

, Norway, where he again acted as the sighted guide for Drolet. They finished fifth in both the 5 km and 10 km classical technique B1 events, before winning a bronze medal in the 5 km free technique B1. Drolet finished in a time of 20 minutes 8.7 seconds and became the first American woman to win a Paralympic or Olympic medal in cross-country skiing. He was named assistant coach of the United States Paralympic Cross-country Skiing Team in 1995. He became head coach from 1998 until 2006, during which time the United States won 11 Paralympic medals in cross-country skiing. After leaving his position as head coach he continued to be involved with the United States Olympic Committee s a development coach. In February 2014, during the

Winter Paralympics The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. Th ...

held in

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, Russia, Kreamelmeyer was inducted into the

alongside visually impaired skiers Eric Villalon Fuentes from Spain and

Verena Bentele Verena Bentele (born 28 February 1982, in Lindau) is a blind German Paralympic biathlete and cross-country skier. She studied at the Carl-Strehl Schule, a special school for the blind and partially sighted in Marburg, Germany. She won her firs ...

from Germany.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kreamelmeyer, Jon 1947 births Sportspeople from Colorado Living people Dakota Wesleyan University alumni Cross-country skiers at the 1992 Winter Paralympics Cross-country skiers at the 1994 Winter Paralympics American male cross-country skiers