RENO, Nev. (AP) -- A skiing champion based at Lake Tahoe has been killed while jumping off a cliff with a parachute while filming a movie in Italy.
39-year-old Shane McConkey lived and trained at Squaw Valley's Olympic Village south of Truckee, Calif. He won several national and international skiing competitions, including the X Games and World Extreme Skiing Championships.
He founded the International Free Skiiing Association and had grown popular in recent years for his BASE jumping competitions and big-mountain film exploits.
The film company Matchstick Productions confirmed his death on Thursday, Scott Gaffney, a longtime friend of his in Tahoe City, says McConkey was an "icon and a legend" in their sport. He's survived by his wife, Sherry, and 3-year-old daughter, Ayla.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
