Sporting community shocked at Olympic star Dahlmeier's death
Berlin
Germany and the international sport community have reacted shocked to the news on Wednesday that Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has died in a mountaineering accident in Pakistan.
Dahlmeier's management and local authorities in Pakistan said on Wednesday that the 31-year-old died after being caught in rockfall on Monday while climbing the 6,069 metres Laila Peak in the Karakoram range. Her body is yet to be recovered due to adverse conditions.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Instagram he had hoped that Dahlmeier could be found alive and rescued.
'Laura Dahlmeier was an ambassador for our country in the world, a role model for peaceful, cheerful and fair coexistence across borders. That's how I will remember her, that's how many people in our country will remember her,' Steinmeier said.
Dahlmeier won two Olympic golds, seven world titles and the overall World Cup in a glittering biathlon career she ended at age 25 in 2019. She was also German Sportswoman of the Year in 2017 and a biathlon TV pundit after her active career.
Dahlmeier was a state-certified mountain and ski guide, and an active member of Germany's mountain rescue organization. She was considered an experienced and risk-aware mountaineer.
International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry said on platform X that Dahlmeier 'lost her life in her beloved mountains.
'The news about the passing of two-time Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier in a terrible mountaineering accident is deeply shocking for all of us in the Olympic Movement.
'Laura made history at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics as the first female biathlete to win sprint and pursuit gold at the same Games edition. She will be remembered forever. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this very difficult time,' Coventry said.
The German Ski Federation DSV said on their website: 'We were shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the tragic mountain accident in Pakistan in which our Olympic champion and long-time national team athlete Laura Dahlmeier died at the age of just 31.
'Our thoughts are with her family, her friends, her companions - and with everyone who was touched by Laura's extraordinary personality and sporting greatness.'
The DSV named Dahlmeier 'one of Germany's must successful winter sport athletes' and 'a true role model.
'In Laura, the German Ski Federation has not only lost an outstanding athlete, but also a very special person. Her legacy will reach far beyond sport. We will honour her memory,' the DSV said.
The International Biathlon Union (IBU) said on their website: 'Laura was one of the greatest athletes to grace biathlon and her loss is felt deeply by everyone in biathlon, the wider German sport family and beyond.
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