Double Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has died following a mountaineering accident in Pakistan.
The 31-year-old German was caught in a rockfall on Monday, July 28, during an expedition in the Karakoram mountains at approximately 5,700 metres (18,700 feet).
Her climbing partner, Marina Eva, alerted emergency services, and a rescue mission was launched. However, searches were hindered by adverse weather conditions.
Dahlmeier’s management company confirmed her death on Wednesday, July 30, stating she likely died on the day of the accident. In accordance with her explicit wishes and those of her family, no recovery operation will be undertaken to retrieve her body from the mountain.
Tributes have poured in for the celebrated athlete. The German Olympic Sports Confederation praised her as “more than an Olympic champion – she was someone with heart, attitude and vision.”
International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry called her death “deeply shocking,” while German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier remembered her as “an ambassador for our country around the world.”
Dahlmeier was an accomplished mountaineer and a decorated biathlete, winning two gold medals and one bronze at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, among her 15 World Championship medals before retiring in May 2019.
