Courtesy Bob Winsett
Editor’s note: Readers nominated their all-time favorite Summit County athletes for Peak Performers: The Mount Rushmore of Summit County athletes. Voting is live until March 7 at SummitDaily.com/peakperformers.
Nominee: Jon Zdechlik
Sport: Nordic skiing
Raised in Frisco, Jon Zdechlik, known to many as “Zeke,” spent time as an athlete on the U.S. Nordic Ski Team and coached the U.S. Paralympic Ski Team for many years along with fellow Peak Performers nominee Jon Kreamelmeyer.
Zdechlik grew up in Summit County, skied for the U.S. Nordic combined team after high school and attended the University of Vermont.
Loved by an incredible number of people in the Summit County Nordic community, Zdechlik ran the Frisco Adventure Park for a time and was known for his perpetual positive attitude.
A longtime friend of Kreamelmeyer, Zdechlik served as a Nordic coach for the U.S. Paralympic team with Kreamelmeyer and Scott Peterson, a trio dubbed “the three amigos” that helped the team win gold multiple times.