Olympic snowboarder Sophie Hediger has died in an avalanche, the Swiss-Ski federation has confirmed.
Hedigar was killed after the incident at the mountain resort of Arosa Lenzerheide on Monday (December 23). The Zurich native had previously competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics in China and managed to produce two podium finishes at the World Cup during the 2023/24 season.
The 26-year-old is understood to have ventured out onto a Black Diamond expert-level run at the resort, which is two hours from Zurich.
Confirming the sad news of the incident Hediger was caught up in, Walter Reusser, Swiss-Ski’s chief executive said: “We are speechless, and our thoughts are with Sophie’s family, to whom we express our deepest condolences.
“For the Swiss-Ski family, the tragic death of Sophie has cast a dark shadow over the Christmas period. We are immensely saddened.”
(Image: AP)
The federation has also confirmed it will be keeping further details of Hediger’s death private after having agreed to do so with her family and partner.
Emergency teams, including avalanche search specialists and rescuers from the Swiss Alpine Club, were joined by the Alpine Police in the rescue mission to find Hediger. However, after searching for nearly two hours, they found her body beneath the avalanche of snow.
Hediger had set her sights on competing at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy prior to her tragic passing.