Laura Dahlmeier, double Olympic champion and seven-time world champion in biathlon, died in a mountain accident in Pakistan at the age of 31. The sports world mourns the loss of an exceptional athlete who always caused surprises.
The mountains were their home, sport their passion. Laura Dahlmeier died of the place at the age of 31, which meant so much. With the Oberbayiner, the sports world not only loses one of the greatest biathletes in history, but also an impressive person who has always followed his own self -determined path.
A life for sport and the mountains
Dahlmeier was born in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1993. She was quickly at home on skis. But she randomly came to the biathlon when a friend of the family took the then ten -year -old to the shooting range.
Your beginnings in biathlon: chance and talent
It quickly became apparent that Dahlmeier was an exceptional athlete in the biathlon. Already in the junior area she drew attention to herself. “If grandma asked me, what do you want to be later, I said: Biathlete.” And she was right: the leap to the professionals – a easier for her.
At the age of 19 she was in the DSV contingent of the women’s relay at the World Cup in Nove Mesto. After her World Cup premiere, the Upper Bavarian also convinced in the World Cup: Seventh in her debut, the beginning of a steep career. She took part in the Winter Olympics at 20, and in 2015 she won her first podium in the World Cup.
Successes and medals – the dominance of one Exceptional athlete
At the 2015 World Cup in Kontiolahti, the Oberbayiner then won the first medals: silver in the persecution and gold with the DSV relay around Vanessa Hinz, Franziska Preuss and Franziska Hildebrand. This year, Preuss said how important Dahlmeier was for the team: If Dahlmeier drove to the podium, the others knew that they could do it.
The following winter she became the dominant biathlete. She was not only convincing in the World Cup. Dahlmeier became world champion in the persecution, in the singles, in the mass start and in the mixed season and season. In the sprint she won silver.
Favorite at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang
She was also a top favorite at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. The season did not run as planned at the beginning. In terms of health, she missed many races in the World Cup. No ideal requirements. In addition the immense pressure. But Dahlmeier held up, won gold in the sprint and the persecution, in individual she got bronze.
She had finally reached the top. And that at just 25 years. She could have dominated the biathlon for years.
Resignation and new beginning – life after the biathlon
But Dahlmeier’s plan was different. After her strong Olympic appearance, she thought of the resignation, then thought differently and hung up for a last season. She celebrated her 20th World Cup victory, convinced at the World Cup in Östersund, won three bronze medals. The last big appearances of your career should be.
Dahlmeier: “The fire no longer burns.”
“I noticed for myself at the time, the fire does not burn as intensely as at the beginning, the passion is no longer as intense,” she only said in January 2025 in the BR24Sport-Podcast ‘Pizza and Fries’. “I feel the pressure from the outside more and more. I feel that I am no longer so free.”
The Garmisch-Partenkirchnerin ended her short, successful career according to her own idea. Perhaps more medals would have been possible in this outstanding career. But Dahlmeier decided on a different way. “It gets boring quite quickly when I always do the same. If things are repeated, they have no attraction for me,” she said.
Passion for the mountains: records and adventures
After her career, she began studying sports science, made coaching certificates in the biathlon, volunteered for the mountain rescue service in her homeland and campaigned for nature conservation. In 2021 she was awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit. From 2023 she also worked as a mountain and ski guide. The passion for the mountains always remained. She climbed some of the world’s highest peak and set new records.
It was only last November that she climbed the Himalaya summit Ama Dablam in Nepal in record time. In 12:01:11 hours, Dahlmeier climbed from the base camp at 4,576 meters to the 6,812 meter high mountain and returned to the basic camp – more quickly than ever a woman.
“It was an incredible day in every respect, I was completely able to indulge in the way and the beauty of the landscape,” she wrote on her Instagram channel: “But I was not concerned with records, but about what I love most – climbing, watching and feeling alive with every step.”
A tragic end: mountain accident in Pakistan
Laura Dahlmeier never went the ways of others. She never did what may seem most logical at first glance. Now she died at the age of just 31. Where she felt alive.
That is the European perspective at BR24.
“Here is Bavaria”: The BR24 newsletter informs you every Monday to Friday for the end of the day about the most important thing from the day at a glance – compact and directly in your private mailbox. Click here for registration!
Source: BR24 on radio 30.07.2025 – 2:45 p.m.
