They were good friends
Biathlon star Preuß on Dahlmeier’s death: “Huge shock”
Updated 10/12/2025 – 2:31 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Biathlete Franziska Preuß made an emotional statement about the death of her friend Laura Dahlmeier. She is currently struggling with injury concerns.
Biathlon World Cup winner Franziska Preuß was affected by the death of her friend Laura Dahlmeier. “That was of course a huge shock,” said Preuss as part of her award at the Bavarian Sports Prize. “It’s still hard to believe that you won’t see her somewhere in the winter with cross-country skis or ski touring skis. The accident happened during her greatest passion, and that comforts me a little.” Hopefully Dahlmeier will now be watching “from heaven”.
Preuß and Dahlmeier competed together in the World Cup between 2013 and 2019. Dahlmeier died in July while climbing in Pakistan’s Karakoram Mountains. She was 31 years old.
From a sporting perspective, Preuß is currently plagued by injury concerns. It is still unclear whether the reigning overall World Cup champion will be able to compete in the upcoming biathlon race in Munich’s Olympic Park. After her fall at the German Championships, the 31-year-old had to undergo surgery on her hand at the end of September. “More of the hand was broken than initially assumed,” she said.
The rehab is going well, emphasized Preuß. She does her best and her hand recovers every day. However, she doesn’t know whether there will be enough time for the Loop One Festival on October 19th: “I hope that it will last until next week.” At the same time, she made it clear that she would not take any risks. The actual goal is the start of the World Cup in November. “By then I’ll be fit again,” said the biathlete.
Preuß is not discouraged by the situation. “I’m a master at such challenges; I’ve had much worse.”