The death of a young cyclist shakes Switzerland: “I trust in God”
Muriel Furrer, a young cyclist in Switzerland, died while competing in the World Championships. She was 18 years old and had a deep faith in Christ, which she often expressed on social media.
Pro Medien Magazin · 04 OCTOBER 2024 · 12:15 CET
The cycling world was rocked by a fatal accident last week. The 18-year-old Swiss Mountain Bike rider Muriel Furrer crashed badly in a wooded area at the Cycling World Championships in Zurich and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
She died as a result on 27 September. She had been competing in a junior race. The exact circumstances have not yet been clarified.
The junior athlete was a firm believer in Jesus. Several media outlets reporting on her death have pointed this out. Furrer confessed her faith on her Instagram profile. There, she wrote: “all things through Christ”, with an angel’s wing next to it. This is reminiscent of a verse from Philippians in the New Testament: “I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength”.
On a video in which she films herself driving over a mountain pass, she wrote: “This is life. On this earth. In this place. Thank you, Jesus”.
In other posts, Muriel Furrer wrote about the power of prayer and how God had helped her during competitions.
“My trust in God made me fly through the race”, she wrote in March about a race in Monte Tamaro, in which she eventually finished in fourth place - although she had been struggling in the days before. “It wasn’t me, it was God in me. I was able to ride with joy and felt that Jesus was with me the whole time”, she explained.
Almost exactly one year ago, she posted a picture and wrote: “I can’t wait to see what God has planned for me”.
As the portal ‘Watson’ writes, Furrer was starting to make a name for herself in the cycling world. In May, she won bronze with the Swiss U19 team at the European Mountain Bike Championships in Romania.
Before the competition that led to an abrupt end to her life, Muriel announced on Instagram that the race at her home World Championships would be her last for the season.
The organisers of the World Cycling Championships invited people to a memorial ride for Muriel Furrer on the following Sunday and instead cancelled another competition planned for that day. A place of mourning was opened at Zurich’s Wasserkirche church.
This article was first published by Pro Medienmagazin, and translated with permission.
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