Régine Cavagnoud (27 June 1970 – 31 October 2001) was a World Cup alpine ski racer from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. She was the World Cup and

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in Super-G in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

. Later that year, Cavagnoud was involved in a high-speed collision while training and died two days later. She competed at three Winter Olympics and five world championships.

Career

Born in

Thônes Thônes () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France, and is the ″capital″ of local cheeses Reblochon and Chevrotin. Geography The Fier flows northwestward through the middle of th ...

, Haute-Savoie, Cavagnoud's career was plagued by injuries. She finally secured a World Cup race victory in her tenth year of competition, a

downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; lld, Anpezo, ; historical de-AT, Hayden) is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomitic) Alps in the Province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the Boite river, in an alp ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, in January 1999. That was the first World Cup downhill race victory by a Frenchwoman in 17 years. Cavagnoud had eight World Cup victories: four in Super-G, three in downhill, and two in

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...

. Her last victory was in March 2001 in giant slalom at the national championships in Courchevel, France. She topped the Super-G season standings in 2001 and was ranked third overall in 2000 and 2001. At the 2001 World Championships in

St. Anton Sankt Anton am Arlberg, commonly referred to as St Anton, is a village and ski resort in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It lies in the Tyrolean Alps, with aerial tramways and chairlifts up to , yielding a vertical drop of . It is also a popular s ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, she won the Super-G title on 29 January.

Death

On 29 October 2001, Cavagnoud collided with German ski coach Markus Anwander during ski training in

Pitztal The Pitztal is an alpine valley located in Tyrol, Austria. The Pitztal is a southern side valley of the Upper Inntal, and runs between the valleys Ötztal (to the east) and Kaunertal (to the west). The Pitze river runs the length of the valley an ...

, as he crossed the piste. Both sustained serious head injuries and were evacuated by helicopter to

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

university hospital A university hospital is an institution which combines the services of a hospital with the education of medical students and with medical research. These hospitals are typically affiliated with a medical school or university. The following is a l ...

, where Cavagnoud was found to have serious brain damage and succumbed to her injuries two days later. Her death was the first fatality involving a World Cup ski racer in over seven years, since the death of Austria's

Ulrike Maier Ulrike Maier (22 October 1967 – 29 January 1994) was a World Cup alpine ski racer from Austria, a two-time World Champion in Super-G. She competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics and the 1992 Winter Olympics. Born in Rauris, Salzburg, where h ...

in a downhill race in January

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. Cavagnoud was buried near her native village at La Clusaz in the French Alps.

World Cup results

Season titles

Season standings

Race victories

*8 wins – (3 DH, 4 SG, 1 GS) *23 podiums – (8 DH, 12 SG, 3 GS)

World Championship results

Olympic results

References

External links

*
Régine Cavagnoud
World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation *
BBC News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavagnoud, Regine 1970 births 2001 deaths Sportspeople from Haute-Savoie French female alpine skiers Skiing deaths Sport deaths in Austria FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Olympic alpine skiers of France Alpine skiers at the 1992 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics 20th-century French women