Jake Burton Carpenter, the pioneer who popularized snowboarding into a big business and an Olympic sport, died Wednesday in Burlington (Vermont) at the age of 65, victim of testicular cancer who had been diagnosed in 2011. Burton's figure It was essential to organize in 1982 the first specialized US championship, which reached the Olympic category at the 1998 Games in Nagano.

Two weeks ago, the American businessman had sent an email to his employees with a conclusive message: "You are not going to believe this, but my cancer is back." So this Wednesday, John Lacy, executive director of Burton, could only confirm the fatal outcome. "Everything happened suddenly. It's a tremendous loss for all of us," Lacy concluded, with a special mention for his wife, Donna, and their three children: George, Taylor and Timi.

Since he left his job in New York in 1977 and founded his own company, Burton's sole objective was to improve the snowboard invented a decade earlier by Sherman Poppen. More than four decades later, snowboarding is one of the most important sports of the Winter Games and the signature "Burton", printed on boards or warm clothes, is one of its most genuine symbols.

"There was a sport"

In fact, most stars of the specialty, from Shaun White to Kelly Clark or Chloe Kim, sported at some point in their career the unmistakable Burton logo, which used to enjoy all Olympic deeds from the front row.

In 2010, during an interview, Burton offered some clues to his entire career. "I somehow knew that there was a sport there. That it wasn't just a sled-like affair, as it was considered then," he revealed. "We are doing something with the intention of lasting. It is not that one day the lottery touches you," he added about his tireless task, always trying to open the traditional ski slopes to the riders.

One of the best definitions of his work was offered by the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame, during his admission ceremony, held in 2012. "He did not make the most important decisions for his company from a desk, but from a chair lift" .

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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  • winter Olympic Games

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