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'Gone Too Soon' - Tributes Pouring In After Olympic Champion Dead At 31

Originally posted on The Spun | By Chris Rosvoglou | Last updated Jul 30, 2025 11:02 AM ET

It was sadly reported Wednesday morning that two-time Olympic gold medalist Laura Dahlmeier passed away at the age of 31.

Dahlmeier, a German biathlon champion, solidified herself as a superstar at the 2018 Winter Olympics. She became the first biathlete to win the sprint and pursue events in the same Winter Games. One year later, she announced her retirement from competitive biathlon.

On Monday, the three-time Olympic medalist's management team announced that she was involved in a climbing accident at the Karakorum Mountains in Pakistan. It turns out she was caught in a rockfall at an altitude of approximately 5,700 meters.

Less than 48 hours later, Dahlmeier's management team confirmed that she died in this rockfall accident.

"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. She lost her life in her beloved mountains," International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said. "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."

Countless people have offered their thoughts and prayers to the Dahlmeier family over the past hour.

"Absolutely horrifying news. *THE* defining German biathlete of the post-Neuner era, a model Bavarian and true star of the sport that she then exited on her own terms. She was meant to enjoy these years since her early retirement and not have them cut short by tragedy. RIP," one person wrote on X.

"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," a second person said. "Rest in peace, Laura."

"Laura Dahlmeier was an ambassador of our country in the world, a role model for peaceful, joyful, and fair coexistence across borders," another person wrote.

"This news hurts. Laura Dahlmeier impressed me even more as a person than as a biathlete: down-to-earth, nature-loving, unassuming. She didn’t live for fame as an athlete. I hope she was happy with what she was doing until just before the accident," a social media user wrote.

There's no question Dahlmeier's legacy will live on for generations to come.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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