So in 2004, he started the Chris Klug Foundation with the goal of promoting life-saving donations and helping improve the quality of life for donors, recipients and transplant candidates.

"In 2009 we hosted 75 events around the country – [called] Donor Dudes events – which is a program that we started on high school and college campuses, really to promote donation and encourage young people to share their decision and make sure they know the facts about donation," he added.

Klug held another Donor Dudes event at the recent Winter X Games which were held this year in his hometown of Aspen, Colorado.

Chris Klug has had other challenges in his career. He believes he was wrongly denied a place on the 2006 U.S. Olympic team for the Turin Winter Games. And even though he won at the national championships last year, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association decided not to fund him anymore. So he formed his own team with three others and solicited his own sponsors. And he successfully made it through qualifying this season to make it on the U.S. Team for Vancouver.

On Saturday, Klug will compete in the men's parallel giant slalom snowboard event. He is fairly certain this is his final Olympics, so he has been relishing the experience. "That's been my mantra all season, just enjoy the ride. Mainly partly because of knowing this is probably my last competitive season, and then maybe for missing out in 2006, you know I really wanted to savor every moment in this," said Klug.