Sophie Hediger, a member of the Swiss national snowboard cross team who competed at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, died on Monday (23) in an avalanche in the Swiss Alps, according to the country’s ski federation. She was 26 years old.
Hediger was a regular competitor on the international snowboard cross racing circuit, which involves multiple snowboarders competing against each other on a course that includes jumps.
On Monday, at 1:15 p.m. local time (9:15 a.m. EDT), a woman later identified by the Swiss ski federation as Hediger was snowboarding with another person on a closed black run in Arosa, a mountain village in eastern Switzerland. , when the pair left the roadway, according to an initial Graubünden police report.
Hediger was caught in an avalanche, and her companion notified rescue services and began searching for her, police said. Rescuers from the Swiss Alpine Club, avalanche search dog experts, ski area lift staff and members of the Alpine police responded.
Rescuers found Hediger buried in the snow around 3:30 p.m. but were unable to revive her, police said, and she died at the scene.
