Tanja Frieden (born February 6, 1976 in Bern ) is a former Swiss snowboarder and Olympic champion. Today she works as a speaker, coach and mental trainer and is president of the Swiss snow sports initiative.
She contested her first World Cup race in 1997. Since winning the silver medal at the European Championships in 2000, she has been among the world's best. She celebrated her greatest success at the 2006 Winter Olympics when she won the gold medal in the first ever snowboard cross discipline in Bardonecchia on February 17th . Until shortly before the finish she was well behind Lindsey Jacobellis , who fell on the penultimate jump after a failed show and had to leave the victory to the Swiss. Just one day earlier, the American Seth Wescott , with whom Frieden had been dating for a long time, had also become Olympic champion in boardercross. She was named Swiss Sportswoman of the Year 2006.
During a qualification run for the Boardercross World Cup in Stoneham , Tanja Frieden had a serious fall on January 20, 2010. She sustained a shoulder injury and torn Achilles tendons on both sides . On January 26, 2010, she announced her retirement from competitive sports.
Private
Tanja grew up in Thun, her mother Kari came from Norway , which is why she started for this country at the beginning of her career. She attended the teachers' seminar there and then worked part-time as a teacher at the beginning of her career before becoming a professional snowboarder. She has lived in Thun with her partner Marc Ramseier since August 2015 and has had a son with him since January 30, 2016. She has been giving motivational seminars and training courses for women since 2016.