Sven Coomer (12 October 1940 – 10 March 2025) was an Australian

modern pentathlete The modern pentathlon is an Olympic multisport that consists of five events: fencing (one-touch épée followed by direct elimination), freestyle swimming, obstacle course racing, laser pistol shooting, and cross country running. The sport wa ...

who competed at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

. Coomer was born in 1940 and raised in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. At the age of 16, he was the youngest competitor at the

.Jackson Hogen
"Sven Coomer: Master Boot Laster"
"Skiing History" magazine, May/June 2014 Coomer studied product design in Sweden, where he learned to ski and ski-race. He later worked as a ski racing coach, ski instructor and ski school director in the United States. That career led to a job designing ski boots for the Italian firm Nordica, and his designs were widely imitated by other companies. His innovations in ski boot design led to him being dubbed "the father of the modern ski boot". He also founded ZipFit, a company specializing in manufacturing and selling boot liners. Coomer moved to

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population ...

in 2000, and it was there that he met Mary Dominick, who became his wife. In 2021, he was inducted into the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame. He died on 10 March 2025, at the age of 84.

References

1940 births 2025 deaths Australian male modern pentathletes Olympic modern pentathletes for Australia Modern pentathletes at the 1956 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales 20th-century Australian sportsmen Australian fashion designers {{Authority control