Laura Dahlmeier death: Olympic biathlon champion’s written wish not to risk lives to save her before Pakistan mountaineering accident

Laura Dahlmeier, former biathlete, in a TV interview in 2020. Photo / AFP

Germany’s two-time Olympic biathlon gold medallist, Laura Dahlmeier, was confirmed dead aged 31 overnight after being hit by falling rocks on a Pakistani mountain.

The dangerous nature of the site made rescue efforts “impossible”, her management company reported in a statement issued on Wednesday, which confirmed her death.

“Rescue efforts to recover her failed and the operation was suspended,” the statement continued.

“Laura’s energy and passion for life touched so many around the world,” the International Biathlon Union reacted in a statement.

It added: “Her legacy, both within biathlon and beyond, will never be forgotten and will continue to inspire countless athletes and adventurers for generations to come.”

“This is an enormous shock. Laura will always remain in my heart,” Dahlmeier’s friend and rival, Czech champion Gabriela Soukalova, posted on social media.

She was a certified mountain and ski guide and an active member of the mountain rescue, according to her team.

Dahlmeier’s management company said it had been her “express and written wish that in a case like this, no one should risk their life to rescue her”.

They added: “Her wish was to leave her body on the mountain in such a case.”

This was also in line with the wishes of her relatives, “who also expressly ask that Laura’s last wish be respected”.

The accident happened around midday on Monday at an altitude of 5700m on Laila Peak in the Karakoram range, according to a statement from her team on her official social media pages.

Dahlmeier’s climbing partner was able to sound the alarm after reaching safety.

“It was determined that a helicopter rescue is not possible,” Areeb Ahmed Mukhtar, a senior local official in Ghanche district, where the more than 6000m mountain is located, told AFP earlier on Wednesday.

“The conditions at the altitude where she was injured are extremely challenging,” he added.

Shipton Trek & Tours Pakistan, which organised the expedition, confirmed the ground rescue by a team of four that includes three Americans and a German mountaineer.

Dahlmeier was “hit by falling rocks”, her team said on Tuesday, adding no one had yet been able to reach her because of the danger of further rockfalls and the site’s “remoteness”.

Muhammad Ali, a local disaster management official, told AFP that weather conditions have been “extremely harsh” in the region for the past week, with rain, strong winds and thick clouds.

Dahlmeier, an experienced mountaineer, had been in the region since the end of June and had already ascended the Great Trango Tower.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued a statement on Wednesday calling Dahlmeier “an ambassador for our country around the world [and] a role model for peaceful, joyful, and fair coexistence across borders”.

She won seven world championship gold medals, and at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, she became the first woman biathlete to win both the sprint and the pursuit at the same Games.

Dahlmeier retired from professional competition in 2019 at the age of 25.

She went on to become a commentator on biathlon events for German broadcaster ZDF, and also took up mountaineering.