The coach of Ellie Soutter, who tragically died on her 18th birthday on Wednesday, says her shocking death is akin to losing “a little sister.”
French Olympic silver medallist Déborah Anthonioz, 39, traveled and trained extensively with the rising snowboard star, developing a connection as “more girlfriends than coach and student,” Anthonioz tells PEOPLE.
She last saw her snowboarding protegé “a dozen days ago” and spoke with her for the last time on Sunday — just three days before her tragic death in the forests near Les Gets, France — to discuss Soutter’s preparation and training schedule.
“There was no sign of anything wrong,” Anthonioz tells PEOPLE. “She was very determined, highly motivated, she had everything going for her. She was getting a big sponsor. Everything was falling into place.”
“Every day I am less able to believe this has happened,” she continues. “Ellie was full of life, and always smiling.”
Anthonioz was formally notified of her friend’s death on Thursday around noon during a phone call from the Soutter family. At first, she says that people thought it was the result of an auto accident but quickly discounted the theory because Soutter didn’t have a driver’s permit.
An official cause of death has not yet been announced by authorities, but British Ski and Snowboard described her death as “sudden” in a statement released Thursday.
“It was impossible to understand,” adds Anthonioz. “Everyone who saw her Tuesday evening says she has stopped her practice a little early because she was tired but that otherwise she seemed fine.”
“There was no sign that she wasn’t well,” she insists. “She was very happy to be training for the Junior World Championship in New Zealand later this summer.
“Something must have happened,” she speculates. “I don’t know what. Something must have happened Tuesday night.”
Scheduled to take place in Les Gets on Thursday, Soutter’s funeral is expected to draw hundreds of mourners following the outpouring of emotion since her death. It will be followed by a private cremation.
In tribute, her family has plans to launch The Ellie Soutter Foundation to help other young Britons become winter sports athletes. Her mother, Lorraine Denman, 50, and father, Tony Soutter, 53, will oversee the foundation. Poignantly, her family has also released a beautiful black and white photograph taken at a cousin’s wedding at the end of June. On Thursday, the photograph will sit on top of Soutter’s coffin.
“Ellie had a hard time knowing when to stop,” Anthonioz says of the snowboarder, who was tipped to represent Great Britain at the 2022 Olympics. “She wouldn’t want to stop training, even when something might be too tiring or dangerous. Then as her coach, I would have to step in and assert my role and say, ‘STOP!'”
“Our relationship was like best friends,” adds Anthonioz. “And now I feel as though I’ve lost a little sister.”
