Olympic snowboarder dies in avalanche at 26

Swiss Olympic snowboarder Sophie Hediger died in an avalanche on Monday. She was 26.

Hediger, who competed at the 2022 Beijing Olympics as a member of Switzerland’s national snowboard cross team, died in an avalanche in the Swiss Alps. The 26-year-old was snowboarding with another person in Arosa, a village in east Switzerland, when they left the slope and were caught in an avalanche, The New York Times reports.

Swiss Alpine Club rescuers, search dog specialists, nearby employees and Alpine police all responded in search of Hediger, according to the Times.

Two hours later, rescuers found her. Hediger was pronounced dead at the scene after they tried to resuscitate her.

“We are stunned and our thoughts are with Sophie’s family, to whom we express our deepest condolences,” Swiss-Ski CEO Walter Reusser said in a statement.

“For the Swiss Ski family, the tragic death of Sophie Hediger has cast a dark shadow over the Christmas holidays,” he added. “We are immeasurably sad. We will keep an honorable memory of Sophie,” Reusser added.

Hediger grew up in Horgen, Switzerland, and spent much of her time in Arosa, Switzerland.

Hediger and fellow Swiss snowboarder Kalle Koblet placed seventh in the mixed team snowboard cross race at the Beijing Olympics. She also placed 19th in the women’s race.

In 2023 and 2024, Hediger earned her first two World Cup podium places.

She was set to compete at the home World Championships in Engadin, Switzerland, in March. Competing in the event was “one of her sporting dreams,” according to Swiss-Ski.

Hediger posted on social media just days before her death, celebrating yet another victory in her sport.

“p9 in the first worldcup of the season @cervinoskiparadise - crashed in 1/4-finals…happy about my riding and my best qualification I’ve ever had with p3,” she wrote on Instagram.