{{Short description|American skier (1957–2018)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2019}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Jon Engen | full_name = | image = | caption = | nationality = American | sport = Biathlon, cross-country skiing | birth_date = {{birth date|1957|3|9}} | birth_place = Oslo, Norway | death_date = {{death date and age|2018|4|26|1957|3|9}} | death_place = }}

'''Jon Engen''' (March 9, 1957 &ndash; April 26, 2018) was an American skier.<ref name="Oly">{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/85514 |title=Jon Engen |work=Olympedia |access-date=January 24, 2022}}</ref> He competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics, the 1992 Winter Olympics, and the 1994 Winter Olympics,<ref name="SportsRef">{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/en/jon-engen-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417191150/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/en/jon-engen-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 17, 2020 |title=Jon Engen Olympic Results |accessdate=June 7, 2019}}</ref> taking part in both biathlon, and cross-country skiing.<ref name="SS">{{cite web|url=https://www.usskiandsnowboard.org/news/olympian-jon-engen-passes |title=Olympian Jon Engen Passes |work=US Ski and Snowboard |access-date=January 24, 2022}}</ref>

==Biography== Engen was born in Oslo, Norway in 1957,<ref name="Oly"/> and learned to ski from the age of four.<ref name="BMT">{{cite web|url=https://bouldermountaintour.com/the-enduring-legacy-of-jon-engen/ |title=The enduring legacy of Jon Engen |work=Boulder Mountain Tour |access-date=January 24, 2022}}</ref> While in Norway, he won junior competition titles and achieved success at a national level.<ref name="BMT"/> After attending the University of Oslo and serving in the Norwegian Army, he moved to America in 1980.<ref name="Oly"/> Three years later, he graduated from the Montana State University,<ref name="Oly"/><ref name="SS"/> where he had to study English as a foreign language.<ref name="BMT"/>

In the mid 1980s, Engen began training in an attempt to be selected for the American Olympic team for cross-country skiing, including roller skiing at night.<ref name="BMT"/> Engen eventually qualified for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada.<ref name="BMT"/> He then competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, before returning to the country of his birth for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.<ref name="BMT"/> At the masters level, Engen won more than twenty World Cup medals, including twelve golds.<ref name="BMT"/>

After competing at three Winter Olympics,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://skitrax.com/sad-news-legendary-us-olympian-jon-engen-passes-away/ |title=Sad News – Legendary US Olympian Jon Engen Passes Away |work=Ski Trax |access-date=January 24, 2022}}</ref> Engen coached cross-country skiing in Sun Valley,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fasterskier.com/2003/10/olympian-and-master-skier-jon-engen/ |title=Olympian and Master Skier Jon Engen |work=Faster Skier |access-date=January 24, 2022}}</ref> where he started a Nordic skiing programme.<ref name="Oly"/> Engen was also on the board of the US Ski & Snowboard Association, working for the association for a decade.<ref name="Oly"/><ref name="BMT"/> He was inducted into the Sun Valley Ski Hall of Fame,<ref name="SS"/> and just prior to his death, he was awarded with the Al Merrill Nordic Award for services to Nordic skiing.<ref name="Oly"/>

Engen died in April 2018 from pancreatic cancer,<ref name="BMT"/> after being diagnosed with the illness in August 2017.<ref name="BMT"/> In 2019, the Boulder Mountain Tour was held in his memory.<ref name="BMT"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://eyeonsunvalley.com/Story_Reader/5793/Boulder-Mountain-Tour-Held-in-Honor-of-Jon-Engen/ |title=Boulder Mountain Tour Held in Honor of Jon Engen |work=Eye on Sun Valley |access-date=January 24, 2022}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{sports links}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Engen, Jon}} Category:1957 births Category:2018 deaths Category:American male biathletes Category:American male cross-country skiers Category:Olympic biathletes for the United States Category:Olympic cross-country skiers for the United States Category:Biathletes at the 1992 Winter Olympics Category:Biathletes at the 1994 Winter Olympics Category:Cross-country skiers at the 1988 Winter Olympics Category:Skiers from Oslo Category:Norwegian emigrants to the United States Category:Deaths from pancreatic cancer Category:20th-century American sportsmen