Patrick Gasienica, who competed in ski jumping at the 2022 Winter Olympics, died in a motorcycle accident on Monday at age 24.
Gasienica died “while returning from work on his motorcycle,” according to a memorial fund put together by a family friend and verified by USA Nordic. He was living with his mom in McHenry, Illinois. All donations will be directed toward Gasienica’s mother, according to the fund website.
Gasienica placed fourth at the December 2021 Olympic Trials, then was part of the U.S. men’s quartet that placed 10th at the Olympics. Individually, he placed 49th on the normal hill and 53rd on the large hill in his Olympic debut.
He competed at one international event this past season, a Continental Cup in Iron Mountain, Michigan, in March with a best finish of 37th.
Gasienica trained at the Norge Ski Club outside Chicago and joined fellow members of the club on the 2022 Olympic ski jumping team: Kevin Bickner and Casey Larson, both 2018 Olympians.
Gasienica was born in the U.S. to a family of Polish immigrants from Zakopane, which has a ski jumping hill and hosts international competitions. His grandfather, father and uncle were all ski jumpers.
The Associated Press and NBC Olympic research contributed to this report.