Born: 4 January 1978

Birthplace: Bonneville (France)

Nationality: France

Sport: Skiing

ATTENDANCE AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Nagano 1998

Salt Lake City 2002

Turin 2006

AWARDS

Olympic medals:

Gold: 1

Silver: 1

Other results:

World Championships

Gold: 4 (01, 03)

Silver: 1 (03)

The First Woman Snowboarding Champion

Snowboarding was contested in the Olympics for the first time in 1998. The inaugural women's event, the giant slalom, was delayed one day because of a snowstorm. Twenty-year-old Karine Ruby of Chamonix, France, was the overwhelming favourite, having won seven of the eight pre-Olympic World Cup competitions. She had no trouble living up to expectations.

Ruby's first run time of 1:09.33 led the field by an impressive 1.97 seconds. She protected her lead with a relatively careful second run and won by 1.83 seconds. She also participated in the Salt Lake City Games in 2002 and earned the silver medal in the giant slalom.