SANTIAGO, Chile, July 20 (UPI) -- Matilda Rapaport, a Swedish professional extreme skier, died at the age of 30 after an avalanche last week while filming in Chile.
The avalanche occurred Thursday but "despite intensive medical care and treatment over the subsequent days, it wasn't possible to save her life," Red Bull, Rapaport's sponsor, said in a statement.
"A former alpine ski racer, Matilda became a highly respected, beloved member of the freeride community, ranking in the top tier of the Freeride World Tour for several years and winning the renowned Scandinavian Big Mountain Championships in 2011," Red Bull said. "She then made quite an entrance onto the Freeride World Tour stage, winning the season's finals and world's most prestigious and hardest freeride competition, the Xtreme Verbier, in 2013, having entered on a wildcard."
Rapaport was in a coma and in critical condition due to complications resulting from a lack of oxygen after the avalanche, Freeskier.com reported.
Related
Rapaport, who was featured in several freeski films and was a regular contributor to Women's Health magazine, was caught in an Alaskan avalanche in 2014 but worked to overcome her fears to get back on top of large mountains to ride back down freely once again.
"I had a lot of bad memories from last year and I came back to create new ones, many good memories ... because there are so many things here that I love," Rapaport told Red Bull in November.
She married her boyfriend, Mattias Hargin, a professional Alpine ski racer, earlier this year.
"Matilda was an extraordinary athlete, traveling the world to follow her passion, ride steep terrain and share her bright smile," Red Bull added. "A member of the Red Bull family since 2013, Matilda will be missed by the ski community, her fans and her supporters. Along with her many friends, our thoughts are now with her husband Mattias and her family."
Advertisement
