Sophie Hediger, Swiss snowboarding Olympian, dies in avalanche at 26

Switzerland’s national snowboard cross team is mourning the loss of one of their own after Olympian Sophie Hediger died in an avalanche on Monday. She was 26. Hediger was swept up in an avalanche in the mountain resort town of Arosa, Switzerland, the Swiss-Ski Federation announced on Tuesday. “We are stunned and our thoughts are with Sophie’s family, to whom we express our deepest condolences,” federation CEO Walter Reusser said in a statement. “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.” Her death came nine days after she celebrated her 26th birthday on Dec. 14. Details about the incident are limited and in a release, the Swiss-Ski Federation said that it would not be releasing any further information about Hediger’s death at her family’s request. Grisons cantonal po