The German double Olympic Biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier died after a mountaineering in Pakistan, confirmed her management on Wednesday.
The accident took place around noon on Monday, at an altitude of about 5,700 meters at Laila Peak, said Pakistan’s Alpine Club. Dahlmeier climbed her mountain partner when she was struck by a sudden Rockfall in the Hushe Valley, part of the North Gilgit-Baltistan region.
“Laura Dahlmeier died on July 28 in a mountain accident on Laila Peak (6,069 meters) in the Karakoram range of Pakistan,” her representatives told the German Welt -Krant. “A recovery operation was launched, but was eventually demolished on the evening of July 29.”
The representatives of Dahlmeier added that she probably died immediately, while her mountain partner was unharmed and stayed on the site. Bad weather conditions have prevented a rescue helicopter from reaching the location.
“It was the express and willing of Laura Dahlmeier that in a case like this no one should risk their lives to restore her,” they said. “It was her desire to leave her body on the mountain in this case. This is also in line with the wishes of her family members.”
The 31-year-old Dahlmeier was an experienced mountaineer. She had been in the Gilgit-Baltistan region since the end of June and the big Trango tower had already taken off.
Dahlmeier, born in Bavarian Ski City Garmisch-Partenkirchen, was also honored by the prime minister of her home, Markus Söder. “Laura embodied her indigenous Bavaria in the best sense of the word: she was ambitious and successful, but always remained modest and close to her home country,” he said in a statement.
“Even after her active career, she shared her love for sport as a winter sports expert, member of the Mountain Rescue Service and Ski Guide,” Söder added.
Dahlmeier withdrew from Biathlon in 2019, at the age of 25, a year after he became the first female biathlete to reach a sprint and pursuit at the same Olympic Games, in which two gold and individual bronze won during the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
“Laura wrote history on the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics as the first female biathlete to win Sprint and haunts gold during the same game edition. She will be remembered forever,” said the president of the International Olympic Committee, Kirsty Coventry.
The German Olympic Sports Confederation said: “She was more than an Olympic champion – she was someone with heart, attitude and vision.”
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