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Estelle Balet

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Estelle Candice Balet
Photograph of Estelle Balet, taken in 2014
Balet at the 2014 Freeride World Tour in Chamonix
Personal information
NationalitySwiss
Born(1994-12-19)19 December 1994
Sion, Valais, Switzerland
Died19 April 2016(2016-04-19) (aged 21)
Orsières, Valais, Switzerland
OccupationSnowboarder
Years active2013–2016
Height169 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Websiteestellebalet.com
Sport
CountrySwitzerland
SportSnowboarding
Achievements and titles
World finalsTwo world titles

Estelle Balet (19 December 1994 – 19 April 2016) was a Swiss freeride snowboarder and two-time world champion in 2015 and 2016 at the Freeride World Tour. She died in an avalanche on 19 April 2016, at the age of 21.[1]

Early life

Estelle Balet was born in a village of Vercorin in Valais. She started skiing early in her childhood. At the age of ten she transitioned from skiing to snowboarding after a knee injury.[2]

Snowboarding career

At the age of 16, she met her future mentor Geraldine Fasnacht who gave her a fascination for free ride. She won the Dakine Junior Tour competing with the seniors. Starting in la Clusaz, she won her first 2* competitions, and obtained a wild card for a 3* competition, achieving 2nd place. On her first year as an active athlete, she won in Hochfuegen (Austria), Chandolin and Nendaz, as well as the European Freeride World qualifier. She entered the Freeride World Tour at the age of eighteen and three weeks, as the youngest athlete ever on this level. Balet specialized particularly in switch, frontside 180, frontside 360 and jib.[3] In 2014, she got 4 podiums in four competitions and was freeride world vice-champion and was nominated as 2014 Rookie of the year by the Direction of Freeride World Tour. In 2015, after two victories in the World Tour in Andorra and Fieberbrunn, Balet became the youngest ever Freeride World Tour champion. She upheld her world title in 2016 after her victories in Andorra and in Verbier Xtreme.[4]

Death

On 19 April 2016, three weeks after having conquered her second consecutive freeride world title, Estelle Balet died in an avalanche while snowboarding in Orsières.[2] She was filming a snowboard segment with her friend Geraldine Fasnacht for her own first film called Exploring the Known on Le Portalet in southwestern Switzerland. Despite swift action from emergency services and attendance from Air Glaciers, she died from her injuries.

References

  1. ^ "Estelle Balet: 21-year-old Swiss snowboarding champion dies in avalanche during film shoot". ABC News. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  2. ^ a b Chrisafis, Angelique (19 April 2016). "Estelle Balet, snowboarding champion, killed at age of 21 in avalanche". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Estelle Balet". Swatch. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  4. ^ "Champion Swiss snowboarder Estelle Balet dies in avalanche". BBC News Online. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
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