What happened to Sophie Hediger? All about the Olympian who died in Swiss mountain resort

Swiss snowboarder and Olympian Sophie Hediger unfortunately passed away in an accident at a Swiss mountain resort. The 26-year-old snowboarder was killed by an avalanche that occurred at Arosa Lenzerheide resort in Switzerland.

According to the media reports, Hediger and her companion were snowboarding on a closed black mountain slope at the Arosa resort in Switzerland on December 23. She was caught in an avalanche at around 1:15 pm, and it took the rescuers almost two hours to locate her. However, by the time they retrieved her, it was too late.

The Swiss-Ski Federation CEO Walter Reusser mentioned in a press release,

“We are stunned 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 Hediger has cast a dark shadow over the Christmas holidays. We are immeasurably sad. We will keep an honorable memory of Sophie.”

The Federation has refused to divulge any more details about the unfortunate death of Hediger, at the request of her family and her close friends. In the wake of her sad demise, here is a look at the 26 years of late Swiss snowboarder Sophie Hediger.

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Early Life of Sophie Hediger

Sophie Hediger in action at the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 [Image Source : Getty]

Born on December 14, 1998, as Sophie Anna Hediger in Horgen, in Zurich, Switzerland, the Swiss snowboarder made her international debut in 2016 when she represented her nation at the snowboard cross event in the European Cup.

Hediger competed for the first at the FIS Snowboard World Cup in the 2018-19 season. Since then, she never looked back, representing Switzerland on several occasions, including the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, where she participated in the women's snowboard cross, as well as the mixed team snowboard cross. While Hediger finished in the 29th position in the individual event, she performed slightly better in the mixed-team event, finishing seventh overall.

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Achievements of Sophie Hediger

In 2023 Sophie Hediger experienced a positive surge on the professional front. The Swiss snowboarder went on to win a gold medal in the snowboard cross event at the Winter Universiade.

In 2024, Hediger achieved her first podium finish at the FIS Snowboard World Cup held in St. Moritz. The Swiss snowboarder finished second in the snowboard cross event. Hediger subsequently claimed another podium finish at the Gudauri leg of the FIS Snowboard World Cup, where she finished third overall.

Sophie Hediger last participated in the Cervenia leg of the World Cup, where she finished third in the qualifications and ninth in the finals.