Jon Engen

Jon Engen grew up in Norway, where he served in the Norwegian Army and attended the University of Oslo, but he emigrated to the United States in 1980. He attended school at Montana State University where he graduated with a degree in civil engineering in 1983 and later worked as a professional engineer. After his three Olympic starts in both cross-country and biathlon and the end of his international career, Engen continued to compete in masters skiing, and won several world titles and many medals at the masters level. He also became a ski coach at Sun Valley, coaching and leading hundreds of elite cross-country ski clinics around the world. He founded the Sun Valley masters Nordic ski program.

Engen served on the board of directors of the US Ski & Snowboard Association (USSA), and was chair of its Cross-Country Sport Committee for 10 years. In 2014 he was given a USSA Special Recognition Award and was inducted into the Sun Valley Ski Hall of Fame. In 2018, shortly before his death, Engen was named the recipient of the prestigious USSA Al Merrill Nordic Award, which is presented to an individual or group involved with any aspect of Nordic skiing who or which demonstrates an exceptional level of commitment, leadership and devotion to excellence.