Luke Bodensteiner (1970 - )
The athletic, voluntary, and professional accomplishments and contributions of Luke Bodensteiner to cross country skiing put him in the elite of the sport. A native of West Bend, Wisconsin, Bodensteiner was an NCAA champion in classic cross-country skiing in 1990 and 1993 while skiing for the University of Utah, the same years he skied under the banner of the U.S. Olympic Ski Team. In 1994 and 1995, he was the U.S. National Champion in that discipline.
Later, his unparalleled commitment to excellence served the sport well when Bodensteiner became a coach, team director, and administrator. His passion for the sport led him to become the U.S. Ski Team’s Vice President of Athletics and later its Chief of Sport where he oversaw the athletic programs for the U.S. Cross Country team for three Olympic Winter Games – Vancouver, Canada; Sochi, Russia; and Pyeongchang, South Korea. In addition, Bodensteiner served as a trustee of the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
From that vantage point, he helped to establish Utah’s Soldier Hollow Legacy Foundation, which directs the fortunes of Soldier Hollow, and helps keep the one-time Olympic Winter Games cross country and biathlon venue a world-class training site. Spreading his expertise to enhance the sport of cross country skiing once more, Bodensteiner became chairman of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation in 2009 and later Chief of Sports Development and General Manager of Soldier Hollow. His countless unexcelled, positive, and dynamic contributions leave little doubt that if cross country skiing had a patron saint, it would be Bodensteiner.
