I think that a silent moment and a thought for the family of Regine Cavagnoud would be appreciated by all ski fans and her family today.

I write this with immense sadness, as today medical staff at the Innsbruck Universty Clinic, switched off the life support system for Regine after concluding that she no longer had any brain function left, following her collision with another skier on Monday.

Regine was the Super-G World Cup champion and only 31. Her death is the first fatality involving a World Cup skier since Austria's Ulrike Maier died in 1994.

Goodbye to a truly great sportsperson.

This is indeed sad news, I didn't think she would make it. We watched the people around the hospital on TV this morning. The town of La Clusaz will be very sad today.

Did the trainer who she hit accidentally survive? Any explanation on why the trainer was there?

From the most recent report I can find:

quote:

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German and French ski officials said Tuesday communication problems between their teams led to the accident. A spokesman for the Austrian prosecutor, who is investigating the accident, said the German coach, Markus Anwander, could be responsible for the accident.

"He arrived on the track and was the cause of what happened," said the spokesman, Rudolf Koll.

Anwander was also seriously injured and underwent spinal surgery Wednesday, Koller said. Though Anwander's condition had improved, his life was still at risk, the doctor said.

"There is still a slight risk" that Anwander will die of his injuries, he said. "The risk gets smaller as time goes by."

Sonja Reichen, spokeswoman for the International Ski Federation, described the collision as "a very sad accident and we all feel very, very sorry." She added the federation has nothing to do with safety matters at private training sessions such as the one Monday.

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Update, her funeral is going to be on Monday the 5th, and as she served as a local politician as well, the village of La Clusaz is in deep mourning. They are setting up a system to broadcast the service as the church is unable to contain all the mourners.
The German guy survived.