Remembering Matilda Rapaport: Swedish freeskier dies in avalanche
In tragic news out of South America, 30-year-old Swedish freeskierMatilda Rapaport has died after an avalanche swept her away near Farrellones, Chile, around 26 miles from Santiago. According to a Swedish news outlet, on July 14 she was skiing during a filming trip in a steep area. On her second run she was swept away and buried. She may have been under the snow for up to 30 minutes, according to some reports.
Rapaport finished 2016 fourth in the world on the Freeride World Tour—a steep skiing circuit that tests athletes in the big mountain realm. This is the second tragic death of a FWT athlete in three months. Two-time World snowboarding champ Estelle Balet was killed on the French-Swiss border in April.
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Rescuers recovered Rapaport as quickly as possible and she was apparently in a Santiago hospital within an hour and a half of the accident. She had been in intensive care since Thursday.
The Swede was an incredible representative for her sport and was one of the best freeriders in the world. She earned a masters degree from the Stockholm School of Business and won the Verbier Xtreme event in 2013.
“It’s a terrible event with an unfortunate outcome that is very difficult to take in,” said Tommy Eliasson winter alpine director of the Swedish Ski Association. “Our thoughts are closest to Matilda’s loved ones in this difficult time.”
Her husband, World Cup skier Mattias Hargin, who’d she married only three months before, had reportedly flown to Chile to be with her.
