Sophie Hediger, member of the Swiss snowboard cross team 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, has died after an avalanche at a mountain resort, the country’s ski association said on Tuesday.
The incident occurred on Monday in the resort of Arosa, Switzerland. Hediger spent a lot of time in Arosa, where she pursued her beloved hobby of freeriding, said Swiss Ski managing director Walter Reusser in a statement Opinion. Her life “came to a tragic, sudden and far too early end,” said Reusser.
Hediger, 26, competed in the Beijing Games in women’s snowboard cross and the mixed team version of the same event.
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Hediger achieved her first two World Cup podium places in the 2023/24 season. Her best result was a second place in St. Moritz in January. She grew up in Horgen, a town about 20 minutes by car from Zurich.
Swiss Ski said it would not release any further information about Hediger’s death.
“For the Swiss Ski family, the tragic death of Sophie Hediger has cast a dark shadow over the Christmas holidays. We are incredibly sad,” said Reusser.
Hediger’s death comes less than four years after another Olympic snowboarder died in an avalanche in the Swiss Alps. In 2021, Julie Pomagalskia former Olympic snowboarder from France, was 40 years old. Four people were freeriding together at the time of the avalanche, the French association said. Pomagalski’s leader also died.
