Germany mourns the loss of one of its greatest sports heroes.
Laura Dahlmeier has died at the age of just 31. The experienced mountaineer died during an expedition in the Karakoram Mountains in Pakistan. Her management told the German Press Agency.
The two-time Olympic and seven-time world champion in biathlon was skiing alpine style with her rope partner on July 28 when she was hit by a rockfall at an altitude of approximately 5,700 meters.
The accident occurred around noon local time. An emergency call was made immediately, but the area was extremely remote. A rescue helicopter was unable to reach the scene until the morning of July 29. The search was called off that evening due to darkness. The search continued on Wednesday.
Now there is sad certainty.
Laura Dahlmeier was one of Germany's greatest biathletes ever. She won two gold medals (sprint and pursuit) and one bronze medal at the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.
A year earlier, she had already made biathlon history in Hochfilzen: five world championship titles at a single World Championship – no woman had achieved that before her.
In the 2016/17 season, she won the overall World Cup and dominated the sport like no other.
Despite her success, Dahlmeier always remained down-to-earth. She never sought a grand entrance, preferring to let her outstanding achievements speak for themselves.
In 2019, at just 25 years old, she unexpectedly ended her career. Dahlmeier spoke openly about mental and physical exhaustion. Afterward, she devoted herself to new challenges—and found her way back to the mountains.
Dahlmeier completed a two-and-a-half-year training program to become a state-certified mountain and ski guide, one of the most demanding qualifications in mountaineering. She also worked as an author, ZDF expert, and conservationist.
In interviews, she often spoke about the “humility in the mountains” and warned against overestimating one’s own abilities: “Anyone who goes up high must know that they cannot come back.”
Now what she had always warned about has happened.
