Biathlete Olympian Involved in Shocking Mountaineering Accident

Olympic biathlon star Laura Dahlmeier of Germany made headlines in 2018 at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics after securing two gold medals and one bronze in the biathlon events. Her gold medals came after a dominating performance in the women's 10km pursuit and the 7.5km Sprint. However, her Olympic debut arrived four years prior at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.

According to her official website, outside of her Olympic journey, Dahlmeier is a state-certified mountain and ski guide, proving herself to be a well-rounded mountain athlete. As she explained on her site, "After finishing her biathlon career, she finds new sporting challenges in the mountain world, partly at a professionall level, be it in trail running at competitions e.g. as winner [of] Zugspitz Ultra Trail (2019), participation in the World Mountain Running Championships, participation in the Alpfront Trails project or in demanding ski tours such as the Patrouille des Glaciers (2022)."

Laura Dahlmeier Involved in Shocking Mountaineering Accident

Having experienced immense success throughout her career, the recent news of her traumatic accident rattled many. At 31 years old, the celebrated athlete was reportedly off on a mountaineering trip in Pakistan's infamous Karakorum Mountains when the incident occurred.

As stated in a report that her management team shared with the German broadcasting network, ZDF: "Laura Dahlmeier was alpine-style climbing with her climbing partner on July 28 when she was struck by rockfall. The accident occurred around noon local time at an altitude of approximately 5,700 meters. The climbing partner immediately called emergency services, and rescue operations were initiated. Due to the remoteness of the area, a rescue helicopter was unable to reach the scene until the morning of July 29."