Laura Dahlmeier, double Olympic champion, dies at 31 in a mountaineering accident
Dahlmeier represented Germany at two Winter Olympics, where she won two gold medals and one bronze at Pyeongchang 2018
German athlete Laura Dahlmeier, two-time Olympic biathlon champion, died at the age of 31. 31 years after a mountaineering accident in Pakistan.
The athlete was trapped under a rockfall during an expedition in the Karakoram Mountains on Monday.
Her climbing partner, Marina Eva, called the emergency services after the accident, which occurred at an altitude of around 5,700 meters.
Rescue teams, made up of expert climbers from Germany and the United States, immediately launched a rescue mission, but adverse weather conditions hampered the search.
The company representing Dahlmeier confirmed her death on Wednesday.
“An investigation was launched rescue operation, but it was ultimately called off on the evening of July 29,” her representatives told the German newspaper Die Welt.
“No one should risk their life to get her back.”
Her management company said Dahlmeier likely died on July 28, the day of the accident.
“It was Laura Dahlmeier’s express written wish that, in a case like this, no one should risk their life to get her back.”
In this case, the wish was to leave her body on the mountain. This also coincides with the wishes of her family.
The German Olympic Committee said Dahlmeier was “more than an Olympic champion: she was a person with heart, attitude and vision.”
International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said Dahlmeier’s death is “deeply shocking for all of us who are part of the Olympic movement.”
She added: “She lost her life in her beloved mountains. She will be remembered forever.”
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Dahlmeier was “an ambassador for our country in everyone and a role model for peaceful, joyful and just coexistence across borders.”
Dahlmeier, An experienced mountaineer, she represented Germany at two Winter Olympics, winning two gold medals and one bronze at Pyeongchang 2018.
She was the first woman to win both the sprint and pursuit events at the same Games and went on to win a further 15 medals, including seven golds, at five world championships before retiring from competition in May 2019.