Swiss skier Yule pledges prize money to fight climate change

GENEVA (AP) — Hitting back at the president of his sport’s governing body, Swiss skier Daniel Yule will give his prize money this month to an athlete-backed charity campaigning against climate change.

Yule says he is “putting my money where my mouth is” after criticizing International Ski Federation president Gian Franco Kasper at the world championships last month.

Kasper’s comments about “so-called climate change” in a Swiss newspaper interview prompted Colorado-based Protect Our Winters to urge him to resign .

Yule, a slalom specialist, wrote in an Instagram post “After the FIS president denied climate change during the last World Championships, I’ve decided to donate half of the prize money I earn at the last two world cup races in Kransjka Gora and Andorra to @protectourwintersswitzerland.”

Slalom racers can get 45,000 Swiss francs ($90,000) for winning.