WEB DESK: Double Olympic Champion Laura Dahlmeler has died at the age of 31, her management and the german Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) confirmed to media.
Double Olympic Champion Laura Dahlmeler was struck by falling rocks at around middy local time on Monday while climbing Pakistan’s Laila Peak in the Karakoram mountain range, her team said on Instagram Tuesday.“The DOSB and the whole of German sport mourn the loss of Laura Dahlmeier,” Thomas Weikert, President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, said in a statement to media. “We are deeply shocked by the sudden and much too early death of this wonderful person. Our thoughts are with her family and friends and we will offer our support wherever we can.“Laura was a role model and inspiration to so many of us in and out of sport. She always had clear goals in mind and pursued her dreams.”
A rescue operation began on Monday after Dahlmeier’s climbing partner, Marina Eva, sent out a distress signal.But due to low visibility and bad weather, the rescue operation had been unable to deploy its military helicopters, said Faizullah Faraq, a spokesman for the regional Gilgit-Baltistan government, per the Associated Press.
Dahlmeier’s team also said that the remoteness of the area meant that a rescue helicopter was only able to reach the scene of the accident and observe her on Tuesday morning. According to a statement from Dahlmeier’s management on Wednesday, the biathlete specifically asked that no one should risk their life to rescue her or recover her body in the event of an accident.“The family would like to express their heartfelt thanks to the rescue team, especially the local mountaineers,” her management team said in Wednesday’s statement. “They did everything possible to facilitate the rescue and reach the accident victim.”
Dahlmeier, who was 31, made history at the 2018 Winter Olympics when she became the first female biathlete ever to win gold in both the sprint and pursuit events at the same Winter Games. That success came a year after she became the first biathlete to win five gold medals at a single world championship.
She retired from the sport in 2019 at the age of 25.
