BREAKING NEWSSwiss Olympic Snowboarder Sophie Hediger Dead at 26, Killed in Avalanche
Olympian Sophie Hediger died in an avalanche on Monday, December 23.
Dec. 24 2024, Published 12:14 p.m. ET
Olympian Sophie Hediger died in an avalanche on Monday, December 23.
The athlete, who was 26 years old when she passed away, got swept up in the mountain resort town of Arosa, Switzerland, the Swiss-Ski Federation announced on Tuesday, December 24.
The star was 26 years old when she died.
“We are stunned and our thoughts are with Sophie’s family, to whom we express our deepest condolences,” federation 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. We are immeasurably sad. We will keep an honorable memory of Sophie.”
The athlete had just turned 26 on December 14.
There are limited details about the incident, and the Swiss-Ski Federation said they would not be releasing any more information regarding her tragic death.
The star just turned 26 on December 14.
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The snowboarder died in an avalanche.
On Monday, Grisons cantonal police announced that a snowboarder died in an avalanche, but the victim hadn't been identified.
According to French news outlet Le Parisien, the snowboarder was not located until two hours after emergency services had been notified and police opened an investigation regarding the incident.
Sophie Hediger competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in the women’s snowboard cross and the mixed team event.
Hediger competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in the women’s snowboard cross and the mixed team event.
She achieved her first two World Cup podium finishes in the 2023-24 season. She came in second place in St. Moritz in January.
“Wow! what just happened yesterday! got my first World Cup podium at home! couldn’t be happier,” she wrote via Instagram after the milestone.
In her last Instagram post on December 15, Hediger wrote: "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.☺️thank you @bombac.rok & @lorenzo_marten for the super fast boards 🫶🏼& congrats to all our 🇨🇭ladies for the great team result. 🤩📸: @chrishocking."
Many took to the comments section to share their condolences. One person wrote, "Rest in peace 🙏❤️," while another said, "RIP 🕊🙏."
A third person added, "Rest in peace queen 🙏," while a fourth said, "RIP Beautiful so sorry."
A fifth stated, "Rest In Peace 🕊."
