View source for Karine Ruby

{{short description|French snowboarder}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{MedalTableTop||alt=Karine Ruby|Karine Ruby}}
{{MedalSport | Women's [[snowboarding]]}}
{{MedalCountry | {{FRA}} }}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Snowboarding at the Winter Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold| [[1998 Winter Olympics|1998 Nagano]]|[[Snowboarding at the 1998 Winter Olympics – Women's giant slalom|Giant slalom]]}}
{{MedalSilver| [[2002 Winter Olympics|2002 Salt Lake City]]|[[Snowboarding at the 2002 Winter Olympics – Women's parallel giant slalom|{{nowrap|Parallel giant slalom}}]]}}
{{MedalSport | [[FIS Snowboarding World Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold| [[FIS Snowboarding World Championships 1996|1996 Lienz]]|Giant slalom}}
{{MedalGold| [[FIS Snowboarding World Championships 1997|1997 Innichen]]|Snowboard cross}}
{{MedalGold| [[FIS Snowboarding World Championships 2001|2001 Madonna di Campiglio]]|Snowboard cross}}
{{MedalGold| 2001 Madonna di Campiglio|Giant slalom}}
{{MedalGold| 2001 Madonna di Campiglio|Parallel slalom}}
{{MedalGold| [[FIS Snowboarding World Championships 2003|2003 Kreischberg]]|{{nowrap|Snowboard cross}}}}
{{MedalSilver| 1997 Innichen|Giant slalom}}
{{MedalSilver| 1997 Innichen|Parallel slalom}}
{{MedalSilver| 2003 Kreischberg|Parallel slalom}}
{{MedalSilver| [[FIS Snowboarding World Championships 2005|2005 Whistler]]|Snowboard cross}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[X Games|Winter X Games]]}}
{{MedalBronze| [[Winter X Games IX|2005 Aspen]]|[[Winter X Games IX|Snowboard cross]]}}
{{MedalBottom}}

'''Karine Ruby''' (4 January 1978 in [[Bonneville, Haute-Savoie]] – 29 May 2009) was a French [[snowboarding|snowboarder]] and Olympic champion. She won two medals at the [[Snowboarding at the Winter Olympics|Winter Olympics]], with a gold medal at the [[1998 Winter Olympics]] in [[Nagano, Nagano|Nagano]],<ref name=db-olymp-1998>[http://www.databaseolympics.com/games/gamessport.htm?g=44&sp=ALP "1998 Winter Olympics &ndash; Nagano, Japan &ndash; Alpine skiing"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825195238/http://www.databaseolympics.com/games/gamessport.htm?g=44&sp=ALP |date=2007-08-25 }} &ndash; ''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved on 5 March 2008)</ref> and a silver medal at the [[2002 Winter Olympics]] in [[Salt Lake City]].<ref name=db-olymp-2002>[http://www.databaseolympics.com/games/gamessport.htm?g=45&sp=ALP "2002 Winter Olympics &ndash; Salt Lake City, United States &ndash; Alpine skiing"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827163821/http://www.databaseolympics.com/games/gamessport.htm?g=45&sp=ALP |date=2008-08-27 }} &ndash; ''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved on 5 March 2008)</ref> She also earned six gold medals and four silver medals at the [[FIS Snowboard World Championships]], and 67 wins and 122 podiums at the [[FIS Snowboard World Cup]], which earned her the description by ''[[The New York Times]]'' as "the most decorated female snowboarder in the world".<ref name=NYTObit>Robinson, Joshua. [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/sports/30karine.html "Karine Ruby, French Snowboarding Star, Dies at 31 "], ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 30, 2009. Accessed June 24, 2009.</ref>

Ruby won the giant slalom event in the [[Snowboarding at the 1998 Winter Olympics|snowboarding competition]] at the [[1998 Winter Olympics]] held in [[Nagano (city)|Nagano]], [[Japan]], overcoming severe weather conditions to win the first Olympic gold medal awarded in the event to a woman.<ref>Clarey, Christopher. [https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/10/sports/the-xviii-winter-games-snowboarding-it-s-nearly-a-wipeout-for-us-women.html "THE XVIII WINTER GAMES: SNOWBOARDING; It's Nearly A Wipeout For U.S. Women"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 10, 1998. Accessed June 24, 2009.</ref> She finished a combined 1.74 seconds behind [[Isabelle Blanc]] in the parallel giant slalom in [[Snowboarding at the 2002 Winter Olympics|snowboarding competition]] at the [[2002 Winter Olympics]] in [[Salt Lake City]], an event that the two French snowboarders had dedicated to the memory of teammate [[Régine Cavagnoud]], who had died in a 2001 training accident.<ref>Wong, Edward. [https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/16/sports/olympics-snowboarding-defying-the-odds-again-klug-grabs-the-bronze.html "OLYMPICS: SNOWBOARDING; Defying the Odds Again, Klug Grabs the Bronzez"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 16, 2002. Accessed June 24, 2009.</ref>

Ruby came in third place to win a bronze medal in [[snowboardcross]] at the [[Winter X Games IX]] held in [[Aspen, Colorado]] in January 2005.<ref>Murphy, Austin. [https://archive.today/20121203050702/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1103838/index.htm "Soaring In The Slush"], ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'', January 31, 2005. Accessed June 24, 2009.</ref>
She competed in the snowboardcross event at the [[2006 Winter Olympics]] in [[Turin]], [[Italy]], and retired from the sport after being eliminated in the quarterfinals.<ref name=NYTObit/>

Ruby was training to become a [[mountain guide]], a process that can take as long as 15 years, and was killed at age 31 on 29 May 2009 after a climbing accident in the [[Mont Blanc massif]]. Having climbed the [[Tour Ronde]], she fell into a {{convert|70|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide [[crevasse]]}} in the glacier du Geant at around 3,300 m, dragging in two other members of the climbing party she had been leading who had all been roped to each other. One man was killed in the fall, while another sustained serious injuries and was hospitalized after being evacuated by helicopter, although died later that night.<ref>{{cite news|title=La championne de snowboard Karine Ruby se tue dans une crevasse|url=http://www.liberation.fr/sports/2009/05/29/la-championne-de-snowboard-karine-ruby-se-tue-dans-une-crevasse_560902|access-date=13 December 2015|agency=www.liberation.fr|date=29 May 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Davidof|title=Karine Ruby killed by crevasse fall|url=http://pistehors.com/news/ski/comments/0942-karine-ruby-killed-by-crevasse-fall/|website=pistehors.com|access-date=12 December 2015|date=29 May 2009}}</ref><ref name=ESPNObit>{{cite news
|url=https://www.espn.com/olympics/news/story?id=4214709
|title=Champion snowboarder falls to death
|publisher=[[ESPN]]
|date=2009-05-29
|access-date=2009-05-29}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.legacy.com/TimesOnline-UK/DeathNotices.asp?page=lifestory&personid=127810783 AP Obituary] in ''[[The Times]]''
*{{sports links|properties=-P5815}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions in Snowboarding Women}}
{{Footer World Champions SB Parallel Slalom Women}}
{{Footer World Champions SB Giant Slalom Women}}
{{Footer World Champions SB Snowboard Cross Women}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruby, Karine}}
[[Category:1978 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Bonneville, Haute-Savoie]]
[[Category:Mountaineering deaths]]
[[Category:French female snowboarders]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for France]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for France]]
[[Category:Olympic snowboarders for France]]
[[Category:Snowboarders at the 1998 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Snowboarders at the 2002 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Snowboarders at the 2006 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:X Games competitors]]
[[Category:Sport deaths in France]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in snowboarding]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Université Savoie Mont Blanc alumni]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Haute-Savoie]]
[[Category:20th-century French sportswomen]]
[[Category:21st-century French sportswomen]]