Olympic athlete dies aged 26 in avalanche tragedy

ok.co.uk:

Olympic snowboarder Sophie Hediger has tragically lost her life in an avalanche at just 26 years old. A member of the Swiss national snowboard cross team, Sophie proudly represented her country at the 2022 Winter Olympics and was aiming for a spot at the 2026 Games in Italy.

She had two World Cup podium finishes under her belt during the 2023-24 season. However, on Tuesday 23 December, the Swiss-Ski federation confirmed the devastating news that she was involved in an incident at the mountain resort of Arosa, two hours from Zurich, on Monday.

Sophie and a friend reportedly had taken on the Black Diamond run, which is designed solely for expert-level athletes. Emergency teams, including rescuers from the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC), avalanche search specialists with trained dogs, and personnel from Rega (the Swiss Air Rescue service), were joined by members of the Alpine Police in a desperate search and rescue operation.

After nearly two hours, they discovered Ms. Hediger's body beneath the snow. Walter Reusser, the Sport chief executive at Swiss-Ski, expressed his shock: "We are speechless, and our thoughts are with Sophie's family, to whom we express our deepest condolences." He added: "For the Swiss-Ski family, the tragic death of Sophie has cast a dark shadow over the Christmas period.