Biathlon star who died in an accident
Dahlmeier’s father speaks: “I always had to expect the call”
December 17, 2025 – 8:15 a.mReading time: 3 minutes
Five months after Laura Dahlmeier’s death, her father spoke publicly about the accident. He reveals new details about the accident and the funeral service.
In July, biathlon Olympic champion Laura Dahlmeier had a fatal accident while mountaineering in the Karakoram Mountains. The 31-year-old was hit by falling rocks on Laila Peak. Five months after the tragic accident, her father, Andreas Dahlmeier, speaks out about his daughter’s death.
“Laura should have died immediately,” Dahlmeier told “Bild” about the accident. He is an experienced mountaineer himself and has been working in mountain rescue in Garmisch-Partenkirchen for 40 years. Now he reveals that the family received an alarm a week before the accident when Laura Dahlmeier accidentally pressed the alarm button on her transmitter.
Since the accident, the biathlete’s body has not been recovered and is still lying in the Pakistani mountains. “In the days that followed there was a big storm and a lot of stones came down that buried Laura,” reveals father Dahlmeier. “Maybe she wanted it that way. Laura is buried where she was happy and felt free.”
A normal grave in a cemetery that people visit every day would probably not have been right for Laura Dahlmeier anyway, speculates Andreas Dahlmeier. “She would look up and think: My goodness, someone is here again. Finally give me some peace! I think Laura would have wanted to find peace in the mountains,” says Andreas Dahlmeier.
The family was aware that an accident could happen. “I always had to expect the call that something had happened,” he says. “So it was always a good sign when I didn’t hear anything.” His daughter was a very careful mountaineer. “But as a mountaineer you also need luck. And the more often you climb the mountains, the greater the risk that something will happen. You know that,” he says and reveals: “I’ve also escaped death a few times.”
Even five months later, there is still great sympathy for his daughter’s death. This can also be seen at the memorial in the spa gardens of Partenkirchen. “When I go there, I’m never alone,” says Father Dahlmeier.
However, only selected people were allowed to take part in the funeral service for Laura Dahlmeier. She had already made precise specifications during her lifetime, going down to the last detail. She even determined the music, including the Oberreintal song.