Laura Dahlmeier, a two-time German biathlon Olympic gold medalist, died after a climbing accident in Pakistan, her management team and the local government officials confirmed.
The 31-year-old, who also won seven world championships in biathlon, climbed to Laila Peak in the Karakoram Mountain Mountain Mountain when she was hit by falling stones with around 18,700 feet. Her rope partner Marina Eva quickly gave out an emergency call and started a massive rescue mission, her management team said. Eva, unharmed, was able to relegate to the base camp on Tuesday with the help of the rescuers.
The rescue operation was disabled by poor visibility and bad weather.
Morry Gash / AP
The rescuers were able to confirm Dahlmeier’s death on Wednesday, but did not bring the body back due to an unfavorable weather, said Faizullah Faraq, a spokesman for the regional government of Gilgit-Baltistan.
“Based on knowledge from the transfer of the helicopter and the rope partner’s report on the severity of the injuries, it must be assumed that Laura Dahlmeier died immediately,” her management team said in a statement to German media. A similar explanation was shared via Dahlmeier Instagram account.
A separate Post on Instagram Dahlmeier honored as a “wonderful person” who “the life of many, including our own, enriched with their warm and uncomplicated kind”.
“She showed us that it is worth working for her dreams and goals and always staying loyal to yourself,” the position continued. “We are deeply grateful, dear Laura, that we were allowed to share our lives with them. Our moments and memories together give us the strength and courage to continue our way.”
Every final decision to access the body would follow the wishes of Dahlmeier’s family, said Faraq. An explanation of Dalmeier’s Instagram page said that her wish was that nobody had risked life to regain her body after an accident. Dahlmeier’s family thanked the rescue team and the climbers who did their best to enable their rescue.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier offered Dahlmeier’s parents and wrote that she was “an extraordinary athlete”. He remembered that he won the highest award in German sport, the Silver Laurel Leaf, shortly after her first Olympic gold medal in 2018.
“Laura Dahlmeier was an ambassador for our country in the world, a model for peaceful, happy and fair coexistence across borders,” he said.
Jeff Mcintosh/The Canadian Press on AP, file
Dahlmeier made her professional debut at the IBU World Championship during the 2012-13 season at the age of 19. She was selected to represent the Germany team at Sochi 2014, where she took 13th place, according to her Olympics.com.
In 2018 she won two Olympic gold medals at Pyeongchang Games and was the first biathlete in history to win sprint and persecution events at the same Olympic Games. She also recorded a bronze in the person in these games.
Dahlmeier won seven gold, three silver and five bronze medals as well as 20 World Cup races and the overall world championship in the 2016-17 season, as their website emerged.
Dahlmeier retired from the competition biathlon in May 2019 at the age of 25. She grew up in the German Alps in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and, after completing her biathlon career, turned to the challenges of mountaineers. She has been a state-certified mountain and ski guide since 2023 and volunteered for the rescue team of Garmisch-Parkirchen Mountain Rescue.
Hundreds of climbers try to scale mountains in Northern Pakistan every year, and accidents are common, according to Associated Press due to avalanches and sudden changes in weather.
The region was also beaten by over normal seasonal rainfall, causing fall floods and landslides. At least 20 Pakistani tourists have been missing since the floods fired from Chila’s northern district.
