Karine Ruby
Karine Ruby ( born January 4, 1978 in Bonneville, Haute- Savoie, † May 29, 2009 at Mont Blanc) was a French snowboarder and Olympic champion.
Ruby was the world's most successful snowboarder. She participated in three Olympic Games and won two Olympic medals. With six world championships between 1996 and 2005 she won six gold and four silver medals. In the FIS Snowboard World Cup they won six times in the World Cup and thirteen times in World Cup disciplines.
Together with their compatriots Isabelle Blanc and Doriane Vidal ( Halfpipe ) they dominated from the mid 1990 snowboard scene. She was one of the few top athletes, which started from the beginning only race of the FIS, and did not go for the competing ISF. Also in the from 2002 races organized the Ticket to Ride World Snowboard Tour Ruby did not participate. Before the 2006 Olympic Games, she announced her resignation at the end of the season and joined in March 2006 back from competitive skating. Three years later, she died in a fall into a crevasse.
The beginnings from 1994
At her first start at the World Cup in Zell am See Karine Ruby won the parallel slalom and the giant slalom in Pitztal week later. As the season progresses, it starts at 18 World Cup races - all in alpine disciplines, won seven of them, was three times second, even a third party and was able to place up to three races always in the top ten. So they won the World Cup giant slalom discipline, was third in slalom and fourth in the parallel disciplines. A total score was only introduced in the following season, otherwise Ruby had already won the overall World Cup in 1994 /1995.
Dominance from 1996 to 1998
The first edition of the overall World Cup in the following season, then saw Ruby as a winner, just like the two discipline World Cup in Giant Slalom and Slalom. Still dominating Ruby was in the 1996/1997 season, as they additionally won the discipline rating in snowboard cross. In half of the thirty races where she was at the start of 1995/96, she stood on the top step of the podium winners, only seven times it was not on the podium. The fact that one of the victory in the giant slalom was her first world title at the inaugural 1996 World Championships in Austria Lienz, had not surprising considering their dominance. Was rather surprising that of all the parallel slalom World Cup they import as the ninth -worst result of the season.
She remained on the right track with ten wins, 23 podiums and only two seats, excluding the top ten in 31 races in the season 1996/ 1997. Again, the World Championships were among the overall World Cup in 1997 and Karine Ruby was in San Candido, the successful athlete, not least because she started since beginning of the season in addition to the alpine disciplines in snowboard cross and here at the premiere of the competition world champion was the same. Silver medals were the reward for second place in parallel and giant slalom.
Equally dominant Ruby was in the Olympic year 1998. She was listed as a starter in 21 contests, including a first and a third place finish in giant slalom and parallel with the French national championships. Her victory at the premiere of the snowboard as an Olympic discipline before Heidi Renoth and Brigitte Köck in the giant slalom was so little unexpected as the superior victory in the World Cup. Their record this season in the World Cup with eleven wins, two second, a third, a further three top ten pitches, and an eleventh place as the worst result was once again outstanding. With the victory in the season ratings slalom and giant slalom, she had to decide in a row all Ratings for itself for the third time.
Competition in 1999 and 2000
The winter of 1999 and 2000 went for Karine Ruby far less successful than the vorangangenen winter. In the Austrians Manuela Riegler and Ursula Fingerless, the Italians Margherita Parini and Marion Posch, and her compatriot Isabelle Blanc she got strong competitors and Riegler secured twice the overall World Cup, Ruby was 1999, the second square in front Fingerless, 2000, she had in fourth and Blanc Parini and to defer. The discipline World Cup saw other front, 2000 was Ruby, only the second place in giant slalom and two third places in the two parallel world cup, 1999, she had finished second in all disciplines. The 1999 World Championships in Berchtesgaden were Ruby's only world championships without winning a medal. In parallel slalom Marion Posch, Isabelle Blanc and Sandra Farmand stood on the podium, in the parallel giant slalom occupied Isabelle Blanc Rosey Fletcher and Aasa Windahl the podium and Ruby remained in each of the fourth rank. Despite these relative failures Ruby was in two winters still a regular guest on the podium three times in 1999 and nine times in 2000, each with three victories. In March 2000, a French championship was added in parallel slalom.
Winning streak from 2001 to 2003
The World Cup Winter 2001, 2002 and 2003 were again dominated by Karine Ruby. She won as 1996-1998 three times in a row the World Cup and was also successful in some of the discipline ratings. Giant slalom and boardercross 2001 Parallel Slalom 2002 and the boardercross 2003, she ruled in their favor. The 2001 World Championships in Madonna di Campiglio were a triumph for the Frenchwoman. In four starts within six days, she was three times world champion, only in the parallel giant slalom, the Swiss Ursula Bruhin Ruby was able to break winning streak. Twelve Cross and World Cup victories in alpine disciplines and re- winning the national championship in the parallel giant slalom in 2001 were for Ruby to book. The following season was with seven wins, nine further podiums and four top ten ranks in 24 starts as successful here also two FIS races are next World Cup race considered and the culmination of the 2002 season for Ruby, the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. She joined four years ago to the parallel giant slalom. This time, however, she had to her teammate Isabelle Blanc beaten, was third Lidia Trettel from Italy. Despite a few offs Ruby remained in 2003 the most successful snowboarder. With only fifteen races of the season she was placed thirteen times among the top five. Even if there were only three victories in the World Cup, she added her collection of titles at the World Championships in 2003 added another world title in snowboard cross. in the parallel slalom, she had to admit defeat and won a silver medal in front of Sara Fischer to their long-standing adversary Isabelle Blanc. That she also won at the French Championships in boardercross, was a further sign of the shift its center of gravity in the disciplines. For the first time she had been run in a season only victories in the Cross. Their last victory in one of the alpine snowboard competitions was in December 2001 in Mont Sainte -Anne in Quebec.
2004 to the career end of 2006
With the start of the 2004 season Ruby started only in snowboard cross. Three wins from nine races and four times in the top ten ranged in 2004 to win the World Cup discipline boardercross. They also participated in the Winter X Games and won the silver medal in snowboard cross. She started the season despite a torn ACL in his left knee to end and was operated on in June. The following season they played only two races. The first of these was the Event at the 2005 World Championships in Whistler Mountain. This race brought victory to a young competitor, Lindsey Jacobellis, who had been driven to the end of the preseason in the spotlight. Ruby was able to celebrate with the second place the last major success of her career, was third Canadian Maelle Ricker.
In the season 2005/2006 she competed in five World Cup races with a ninth, two fourth and two second places. The last of which was their last World Cup race ever in Kronplatz. She could thus qualify for their third Olympic Games. Even before she announced her retirement from active competition end of the season. At the Olympic Winter Games in 2006 her third Olympic medal in snowboard cross, however, was denied. In the victory of the Swiss Tanja Frieden after Lindsey Jacobellis ' mishap she was Sixteenth. Ruby finished the season and thus her career off with a victory at the FIS races in their home Chamonix.
Personal
Karine Ruby was the daughter of a teacher married couple. It began with eleven years of snowboarding. Her older brother is Jerome snowboarders. After her career end she had to again undergo because of a torn ACL knee surgery and then began training as a mountain guide. With the conclusion it was a state-certified only a few mountaineers in France. Who lives in Chamonix Ruby died on 29 May 2009, when she fell into a crevasse on Mont Blanc.
Achievements
Olympic games
- Nagano 1998: gold in giant slalom
- Salt Lake City 2002: silver in the parallel giant slalom
World Championships
- Lienz 1996: gold in giant slalom
- San Candido 1997: gold in boardercross, silver in the parallel slalom, silver in the giant slalom
- Madonna di Campiglio 2001: gold in parallel slalom, giant slalom and boardercross
- Kreischberg 2003: gold in boardercross, silver in the parallel slalom
- Whistler Mountain 2005: silver in snowboard cross
World Cup
- Overall World Cup: 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003
- Giant Slalom World Cup: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001
- Slalom World Cup: 1996, 1997, 1998
- Parallel Giant Slalom World Cup: 2002
- Boarder Cross World Cup: 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004
- 67 victories in World Cup races, 122 podiums