Olympic Champion Dies on Laila Peak
Laura Dahlmeier, Olympic Biathlon Champion, Dies in Tragic Mountaineering Accident
Laura Dahlmeier, Germany’s most decorated biathlete of the past decade and a two-time Olympic gold medallist, has died in a mountaineering accident on Laila Peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram Mountains, her management team has confirmed.
The 31-year-old was struck by a falling rock while climbing with her partner on 28 July at an altitude of around 5,700 metres. The accident occurred around midday local time. Her climbing partner immediately alerted emergency services.
Dahlmeier had been in the Karakoram region since late June and had successfully summited the Great Trango Tower (6,287 m) earlier in July. Laila Peak (6,096 m) was her second major objective on the expedition.
An experienced and certified mountain and ski guide, Dahlmeier was also a member of the mountain rescue service and widely respected for her cautious and skilled approach to high-altitude climbing.
In her sporting career, Dahlmeier stood out as a dominant force in biathlon. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, she captured two gold medals and a bronze. She also amassed 15 World Championship medals—seven of them gold—and won the overall Biathlon World Cup in the 2016/17 season.
Her loss is being deeply felt across the sporting and mountaineering communities
