42 Athletes That Died Before 40

NBA | February 16, 2021

Sarah Burke

Overshadowed by the self-destructive woes of various male skiing stars, there is no more tragic X-Games story than that of Sarah Burke. Burke was a five-time Winter X Games gold medalist Canadian freestyle skier. Her style and elegance on the slopes and in the half-pipe helped her favorite event, half-pipe skiing, made it into the Olympics in Sochi in 2014.

Unfortunately, Burke never made it to the Olympics. She died in a training accident in which she landed on her head and then suffered cardiac arrest in Utah in 2012. She was only 29.