Régine Cavagnoud (27 June 1970 – 31 October 2001) was a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

alpine ski racer from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. 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 ...

Super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was 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. The United States led a Participan ...

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

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

and five

world championships 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 ...

Career

Born in

Thônes Thônes () is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in south-eastern France, and is the ″capital″ of local cheeses Reblochon and Chevrotin. G ...

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie () is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its Prefectures in France, prefecture is Annecy. To the north is Lake Gene ...

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

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; , ; historical ) sometimes abbreviated to simply Cortina, is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, 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

, three in downhill, and two in

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

. Her last victory was in March 2001 in giant slalom at the national championships in

Courchevel Courchevel () is a French Alps ski resort located in the Tarentaise Valley. It is a part of Les Trois Vallées, the largest linked ski areas in the world. Courchevel also refers to the towns of Courchevel 1300 (Le Praz), Courchevel 1550, Co ...

, 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,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, she won the

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 The Pitze (also: ''Pitzbach'') is a ...

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

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal 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 Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

university hospital A teaching hospital or university hospital is a hospital or medical center that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities a ...

, 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 in a downhill race in January

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. Cavagnoud was buried near her native village at

La Clusaz La Clusaz (; , ) is an alpine commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. Overview Hosting a ski resort in the French Alps near the Swiss border, the commune is part of the Haute-Savo ...

in the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...

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 Skiers from Haute-Savoie French female alpine skiers Skiing deaths Sport deaths in Austria FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Olympic alpine skiers for 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 sportswomen