Freeskier Sarah Burke dies

The skiing world lost a champion earlier today when Canadian freeskier Sarah Burke passed away from complications resulting from injuries she sustained while training in Utah.

Burke, 29, was regarded as the most famous freeskier, earning the respect of peers such as Grete Eliassen, who confessed to watching Burke for inspiration in this article I wrote after interviewing the two at the Women Sports Foundation's Annual Salute to Women in Sports. In the article, both women discussed injuries while competing in a dangerous sport. Unfortunately Burke wasn't able to recover from a Jan. 10 accident in Utah.

Freeskier Sarah Burke died after injuries sustained while training in Utah

Burke tore her vertebral artery, leading to severe bleeding of the brain, according to a statement from her publicist Nicole Wool. Burke suffered a cardiac arrest and went into a coma. Wool said Burke sustained irreversible damage to her brain due to a lack of oxygen and blood, and was unable to recover.

When I interviewed Burke in 2007, it was difficult to keep it professional because she cracked up everyone in the room with every word. Burke was interviewing Eliassen for a video feature on the Foundation's sister website GoGirlGo! Besides using information from that interview for my article, I was allowed to interview the both of them for about 10 minutes after. Those 10 minutes resulted in one of my most interesting interviews ever.

Sarah Burke was known for her smile as much as she was for her incredible twists and tricks

 The two biggest stars of their sport were not only each other's biggest rivals, but also best friends. Not too many sports can boast of such a dynamic relationship. But their free-spirited characters, so alike, were a big reason they developed such a unique relationship.

Not too many celebrities take the time to reach out to the people who interview them. But Burke did. I was pleasantly surprised to get a Facebook message from her, thanking me for capturing the essence of her relationship with Eliassen in the article, and we exchanged a few messages on the social network.

Now, as her family privately mourns her passing, I think about that effervescent smile, always planted on her face no matter what. I remember her for her campaign to get more women competing in her sport and for contributions toward encouraging more girls to become active and participate in sports, which earned her the Yolanda L. Jackson Give Back Award at the 2007 Annual Salute.

That's who she was, a fighter. She fought until the very end; until she could fight no more. For that, her legacy should reflect her fighting spirit just as much as it reflects her incredible records and wins as an athlete.