Olympic Snowboarder Sophie Hediger Dead at 26 In Terrifying Avalanche At Switzerland Ski Resort — 'We Are Immeasurably Sad'
Olympic snowboarder Sophie Hediger died just days after celebrating her birthday.
Dec. 24 2024, Published 12:46 p.m. ET
Olympic snowboarder Sophie Hediger has died at the age of 26 following an avalanche at a ski resort in Switzerland.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the athlete was pronounced dead on the scene after her body was located hours after the tragic incident.
The athlete lost her life in the accident on Monday.
Swiss-Ski CEO Walter Reusser said in a statement: "We are stunned and in our thoughts with Sophie's family, to whom we express our deepest condolences.
"With the tragic death of Sophie Hediger, a dark shadow has been placed over the Christmas days for the Swiss ski family. We are immeasurably sad. We will keep Sophie an honorable memory."
Just nine days before her heartbreaking death, the athlete celebrated her 26th birthday on December 14.
On Monday, police revealed that a snowboarder died following an avalanche while backcountry skiing and was not located until two hours after emergency services were alerted – but her identity was not released at the time.
According to the cantonal police of Graubünden, the 26-year-old ventured onto the Black Diamond run – which was allegedly closed at the time due to avalanche risk – with another snowboarder.
Hediger was pronounced dead on the scene after emergency teams, specialists with trained dogs, and the Swiss Air Rescue located her body.
Hediger participated in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Swiss-Ski said that no further details about Hediger’s shocking death will be released, which was a request made by her family members and partner.
According to reports, Switzerland had been experiencing heavy snowfall before the tragic accident.
Hediger participated in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
She competed in several events, including the women's snowboard cross.
In 2023-24, she finished on the podium twice in World Cup competitions.
In her final Instagram post on December 15, Hediger wrote: "p9 in the first world cup 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."
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Fans of the young athlete flocked to Instagram to share heartbreaking messages.
Fans of the 26-year-old took to the Instagram comments of her final post.
One wrote: "Rest in peace, queen."
A second said: "RIP Beautiful, so sorry."
Another added: "R.I.P. 'The power of love brightly enchants the world because it contains the only light that even death cannot extinguish.'"
