German biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier has died on a mountain peak in northern Pakistan following a climbing accident, and efforts are underway to retrieve her body, a local government spokesman said Wednesday. Dahlmeier, an Olympic gold medalist, was climbing Laila Peak in the Karakoram mountain range on Monday when she was struck by falling rocks at an altitude of about 18,700 feet, per the AP. Rescuers on Wednesday confirmed the 31-year-old's death on the mountain, said Faizullah Faraq, a spokesman for the regional Gilgit-Baltistan government. Her body will be brought to the city of Skardu when it's retrieved by rescuers, Faraq said.
Military helicopters were on standby to assist but have been unable to deploy because of bad weather, Faraq said. Climbers including two Americans have been attempting the same ascent done by Dahlmeier to try to join the rescue operation, he said. Authorities launched the rescue mission Monday after receiving a distress signal from Dahlmeier's climbing partner, Marina Eva, who managed to descend to base camp with help from rescuers on Tuesday. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier offered his condolences to Dahlmeier's parents, writing that she "was an exceptional sportswoman."
He recalled that he presented her with the highest honor in German sport, the Silver Laurel Leaf, shortly after she won her first Olympic gold medal in 2018. Dahlmeier won seven gold, three silver, and five bronze medals at the Biathlon World Championships, along with 20 World Cup races and the overall World Cup in the 2016-17 season, according to her website. She won gold medals in the sprint and pursuit races at the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018 and the bronze medal in the individual competition.
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Dahlmeier grew up in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the German Alps and turned to mountaineering challenges after ending her biathlon career in 2019, when she was 25. She had been a state-certified mountain and ski guide since 2023 and volunteered for the Garmisch-Partenkirchen mountain rescue team. Hundreds of climbers try to scale mountains in northern Pakistan every year, and accidents are common due to avalanches and sudden weather changes. The region has also been battered by above-normal seasonal rains, triggering flash floods and landslides.
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