Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Canadian snowboarder on FBI’s Most Wanted list

Photo: FBI

PARK CITY, Utah — Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Canadian snowboarder Ryan Wedding is on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. The search has been dubbed ‘Operation Giant Slalom.’

On Sept. 17, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Wedding in the United States District Court, Central District of California, Los Angeles, California. 

His allegations are enumerated here: 

• Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances
• Conspiracy to Export Cocaine
• Continuing Criminal Enterprise
• Murder in Connection with a Continuing Criminal Enterprise and Drug Crime
• Attempt to Commit Murder in Connection with a Continuing Criminal Enterprise and Drug Crime

Wedding is wanted for allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and the United States. Additionally, it is alleged that Wedding was involved in orchestrating multiple murders in furtherance of these drug crimes. 

The International Olympic Committee’s website has the following blurb under Wedding’s Athlete Bio:

“In 2006 Ryan Wedding was named in a search warrant on a Maple Ridge, British Columbia that was investigated for growing large quantities of marijuana but he was never charged. However, in May 2010 he was convicted of attempting to buy cocaine from a US government agent in 2008, and was sentenced to four years in prison.”

Park City Mountain was the 2002 venue for his snowboarding event, Parallel Giant Slalom, in which he placed 24th. Many in-person and television audiences at the time were preoccupied with cheering for American bronze medalist Chris Klug and his memorable storyline of championing his experience as a donor-kidney recipient. 2002 was the singular Olympic Games in which Wedding competed.

He should be considered armed and dangerous, and the FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his apprehension, arrest, and extradition.