A YOUNG footballer has tragically died after falling 66 feet from the edge of a black run while skiing.
Nikolas Begalke, 22, had been in Austria when he fell to his death, landing in a wooded area 20 metres below the piste at 2pm on Saturday.
Paramedics rushed to the scene at the Hochzillertal ski resort in Kaltenbach, however, were only able to confirm his death.
The reason behind his fall remains unknown, but police are treating Nikolas’ death as a tragic accident.
Investigators said there was no evidence of third-party involvement in the footballer’s death.
From Gelsenkirchen in Germany, Nikolas played football for clubs including SpVgg Horsthausen, SC Westfalia Herne and DSC Wanne-Eickel.
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The midfielder joined Horsthausen in 2024 and had been playing in Germany‘s eighth-tier district league A.
The club posted a heartbreaking tribute, saying: “Nikolas was not just a player, but a wonderful person, a good teammate and a genuinely sincere guy.”
“His loss will hurt us deeply,” the statement ended.
Nikolas had also played at former club Westfalia Herne, where he helped earn the club a promotion from the seventh tier to the sixth.
A Westfalia Herne spokesperson spoke out, saying: “Nikolas Begalke led our A-Youth team as a defender in the 2021/2022 season under coach Jörg Tottmann to the Bezirksliga title and promotion back to the Landesliga.”
“We will always remember him with gratitude.”
The footballer was also a student at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Dortmund, Germanyand Business Entrepreneurship at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa, in the US.
He was studying International Business Management.
In a heartfelt tribute, a Dordt spokesperson said: ““Niko first came to Dordt in the fall of 2022 to study business and play soccer.”
“After transferring to a university in Germany to be closer to family and recover from an injury, he chose to return to Dordt for a study-abroad experience.”
Nikolas was described by his coach Eric Bourdo as “one of those unique individuals who had a curious mind and a caring heart”.
“Niko had a genuine hunger to learn in the classroom and in life,” Bourdo said.
“Injuries prevented Niko from ever really getting the playing experience he desired from his two seasons at Dordt, but he never let that knock him down.
“He was always the first person to support his teammates through quiet encouragement,” he added.
“Dordt’s men soccer program is a better place because Niko was involved.”