Régine Cavagnoud
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Régine Cavagnoud (born June 27, 1970 in La Clusaz, France; died October 31, 2001 in Innsbruck, Austria) was the 2001 World Alpine Ski Championships Super-G champion and was killed in a training accident in Austria in October 2001.
Cavagnoud's career was plagued by injuries. She finally secured a World Cup race victory in her 10th year of competition, a downhill race held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy on 21 January 1999. That was the first World Cup downhill race victory by a Frenchwoman in 17 years. All in all, she had nine World Cup victories, four of them Super-G, three downhill and two giant slalom. Her last World Cup victory occurred on 21 Mar 2001 in the giant slalom in Courchevel, France. She topped the Super-G World Cup rankings in 2001 and was ranked third overall for the World Cup seasons ending in 2000 and 2001. Her career culminated in the World Alpine Ski Championships held in Sankt Anton, Austria, where on 29 Jan 2001, she clinched the Super-G title.
On 29 October 2001, Cavagnoud collided with German ski coach Markus Anwander during ski training in Pitztal, Austria and sustained severe brain injuries as a result of the collision. She was evacuated by helicopter to Innsbruck's university hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries two days later. Her death was the first fatality involving a World Cup skier since Austria's Ulrike Maier died in 1994 after crashing into a post during a World Cup downhill race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. She was buried in her native village of La Clusaz in the French Alps.
