Laura Dahlmeier is undoubtedly one of the greatest German biathlon legends. Three years after the end of her career, the two-time Olympic champion is still involved in sports and is also involved in social issues. Now the ex-athlete has spoken about her latest role.
As in the previous year, the international biathlon federation IBU is organizing the so-called “Biathlon Climate Challenge”. The goal was a total of 50,000 new trees. Active stars like Denise Herrmann, Benedikt Doll or Elvira Öberg act as team captains.
German biathlon icon Laura Dahlmeier is also part of the challenge. The 28-year-old is working as an ambassador.
“I think it’s great that this is a project where you can really get active. You can spend time outside, do activities in nature and do something good,” the former winter athlete praised the initiative in an interview with the association’s website.biathlonworld.com“: “It’s a way of giving back and I think it’s a really cool challenge and I hope we can reach the goal together. That was the reason I got involved.”
Biathlon: Dahlmeier sees a need for sports stars
Dahlmeier is convinced that the topic of sustainability “is an important topic in all areas of life, but especially for us athletes”.
“We’re also public figures and that brings a bit more exposure. You can actively choose to ‘lead the way’ and be a role model. Now that my active biathlon career is over I have more time and ways to do that, especially when it comes to sustainability issues,” said the seven-time world champion.
According to Dahlmeier, “top athletes could really take on this role model function and also ask critical questions”.
“Sport is important, absolutely, but the question ‘how do we do it?’ is also important and we have to deal with it – that’s why I believe that athletes can set a good example,” said Dahlmeier. As the IBU announced on Tuesday, almost 25,000 trees have been collected so far as part of the “Biathlon Climate Challenge”.