Jon ‘JK’ Kreamelmeyer
Competition | 2016
Hometown: Frisco, Colorado
School Name: Dakota Wesleyan University
Jon Kreamelmeyer was born and raised in Colorado. He graduated from Dakota Wesleyan University with a degree in education and began teaching at Summit County High School in Frisco, Colorado, where he served as an assistant ski coach for the high school team from 1977 until 1986 and the head ski coach until 1991.
At the 1992 Winter Paralympics in Albertville, France, JK acted as the sighted guide for blind skier Michele Drolet in cross-country skiing events. The pair finished fifth in the women’s 10 KM distance race and sixth in the women’s 5 KM distance race. He competed at his second Paralympic Games in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway, where he again acted as the sighted guide for Drolet. They finished fifth in both the 5 km and 10 km classical events before winning a bronze medal in the 5 km free technique event. Drolet finished in a time of 20 minutes 8.7 seconds, and became the first American woman to win a Paralympic or Olympic medal in cross-country skiing.
JK was then named assistant coach of the United States Paralympic Cross-country Skiing Team in 1995. He became head coach from 1998 until 2006, during which time the United States won 11 Paralympic medals in cross-country skiing. After leaving his position as head coach, he continued to be involved with the United States Olympic Committee as a development coach.
In February 2014, during the Winter Paralympics held in Sochi, Russia, JK was inducted into the Paralympic Hall of Fame in recognition of his decades of dedication to the sport of Nordic skiing.
