Paul Wegemen - NCAA champion and 1952 nordic combined Olympian

Alvin Paul Wegeman, a collegiate four-way champion and 1952 Olympian, died in Colorado Springs on May 30, 2015 at the age of 88.

Born in Denver in 1927, Paul first strapped on skis at the age of three and began jumping when he was 13. As a teenager, he worked in his father’s ski shop and was a member of the National Ski Patrol at Berthoud Pass and Winter Park. In 1944, the family moved to Steamboat Springs, where Paul graduated from high school in 1945. 

Paul skied for Western State College for one season and was honored by the school’s Hall of Fame as a member of its inaugural ski team. From 1949 to 1955, he raced for Willy Schaeffler at the University of Denver, with a two-year hiatus to serve with the U.S. Navy. In 1951, he won the four-way title at the Dartmouth Winter Carnival, bringing its coveted Skimeister trophy to the West for the first time. He raced for DU during four NCAA championship seasons and was inducted into its Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. He competed for the U.S. on the 1950 FIS World Nordic Championship and 1952 Olympic teams. He married his wife of 60 years, Nancy, in 1954.

Paul was active in real estate sales and investment in Colorado Springs, and was honored to carry the Olympic torch through town for the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. He was inducted into the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 1998. He is survived by Nancy; son Paul Wegeman, Jr. (wife Joan); two grandchildren and two great-granddaughters. —Kathleen James