Industry News
Margot Simond, an 18-year-old junior champion, died Thursday following a training accident in Val d’Isère, France. Simond, who had just claimed the French U18 slalom title in March, suffered a fatal fall while preparing for the Red Bull Alpine Park event, a competition blending slalom and slopestyle scheduled for this weekend.
Emergency responders were immediately on the scene, shortly before 1 p.m., on the Envers de Bellevarde slope. Despite their efforts, Simond could not be revived. The circumstances of the accident remain under investigation by the Albertville prosecutor’s office.
Simond had recently represented France at the Junior World Championships in Tarvisio and the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival in Georgia.
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The French Ski Federation expressed “profound sorrow,” emphasizing the impact of Simond’s loss on the entire skiing community. The federation, the Savoie Ski Committee, and the Les Saisies club extended condolences and support to her family and loved ones. The International Ski Federation and the French Olympic Committee also paid tribute, recognizing Simond as a talented and gifted athlete. Tributes from the international ski community, including messages from champions Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn, have poured in.
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The Red Bull Alpine Park event, designed by Olympic champion Clément Noël and featuring a challenging course with jumps and technical obstacles, was canceled following the tragedy. The event had drawn anticipation as a showcase for established World Cup skiers and emerging talents like Simond. It is believed Simond collided with the tunnel, as seen in the video below.
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Simond is the third young athlete to be killed while training this season. In March 2025, Marco Degli Uomini, an 18-year-old Italian, died following a crash during a training run at the Zoncolan ski area in the Carnic Alps, Italy. Degli Uomini was training as a forerunner for a regional Super-G competition when he lost control and fell approximately 230 feet (70 meters), sustaining multiple fractures and severe trauma. Despite being airlifted to a hospital and initially communicating with his family, he later slipped into a coma and died. His death deeply affected the Italian skiing community, which was still mourning the loss of 19-year-old Matilde Lorenzi, another promising athlete who died in a training crash on the Schnalstal Glacier in South Tyrol, Italy, just four months earlier.
Cyprien Sarrazin, 30, a prominent French alpine skier, also suffered a life-threatening crash during a World Cup downhill training session in Bormio, Italy, on December 27, 2024. The accident occurred on the notoriously challenging Stelvio course, which is also slated to host the men’s alpine skiing events at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
