Tributes flow for Olympic champion, 31, killed in horror climbing accident

News.com.au

6 days ago

Double Olympic champion Laura Dahlmeier has died aged 31 following a horror mountaineering accident.
The former German biathlete's management announced her heartbreaking death on Thursday morning (AEST).
Dahlmeier was climbing in the Pakistani Karakoram Mountains with a rope partner on Monday when falling rocks hit her at roughly 18,700 feet (5,700 metres).
A rescue team had been deployed to find the three-time Olympic medallist, but was unable to locate her until Tuesday morning, The Sun reports.
Now Dahlmeier's team have revealed she has been found dead after the search continued.
A statement read that Dahlmeier has been assumed dead for two days and that recovering her body was not possible due to 'currently prevailing difficult conditions with rockfall and a change in the weather on Laila Peak.'
Military helicopters had tried to reach where she fell but were unable to do so after the conditions at the altitude were described as 'extremely difficult'.
Climbers had planned an attempted rescue before it was confirmed that Dahlmeier has died.
Tributes for the Olympic hero have since flooded in.
Bundesliga football club FC Schalke 04 wrote on X: 'With Laura Dahlmeier, a great athlete and a warm-hearted person has left us.
'Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with her family, friends, and the entire biathlon family. Rest in peace, Laura.'
While the German Olympic Federation posted: 'With heavy hearts, we bid farewell to Laura Dahlmeier. Her sudden death leaves us speechless.
'She was more than an Olympic champion – she was a person with heart, conviction, and vision. Your story will live on, Laura.'
Dahlmeier, an experienced mountaineer, had been in the north Pakistan region since the end of June and had already ascended the Great Trango Tower.
Conditions in the area of her fall had been described as 'extremely harsh' for the past week, with rain, strong winds and thick clouds.
Laila Peak is known to be a notoriously difficult climb, with only seven individuals reaching its summit.
Dahlmeier won both her gold medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
She won them in the Sprint and Pursuit events while she also won a bronze in the Individual event.
The German athlete retired from competing in May 2019 as she admitted she lacked the passion required to take part.
Later that year she co-authored and released a children's book 'The Climate Gang: Laura Dahlmeier and friends working for nature'.
She also entered the world of sports media as a pundit for the German broadcaster ZDF for the Biathlon World Cup.