Germany and the biathlon community are fearing for popular former star athlete Laura Dahlmeier, who has been "at least seriously injured" in a rockfall while mountaineering in Pakistan, according to her management. Dahlmeier's team said on Tuesday in a statement that the double Olympic and seven-time world champion was hit by falling rocks while climbing the 6,069-metre Laila Peak in the Karakorum range with a mountaineering partner on Monday.
Germany and the biathlon community are fearing for popular former star athlete Laura Dahlmeier, who has been "at least seriously injured" in a rockfall while mountaineering in Pakistan, according to her management.
Dahlmeier's team said on Tuesday in a statement that the double Olympic and seven-time world champion was hit by falling rocks while climbing the 6,069-metre Laila Peak in the Karakorum range with a mountaineering partner on Monday.
"Due to an ongoing major risk of rockfall nobody has been able to reach her yet. A helicopter flyover revealed that the experienced mountaineer is at least seriously injured. There were no signs of life," the statement posted on Dahlmeier's Instagram page said.
The search was suspended on Tuesday night due to darkness, a spokesman for Pakistan's tourism authority told dpa. Efforts will resume in the morning.
The management statement said that Dahlmeier's rope partner immediately made an emergency call when the accident happened, and a rescue operation was instantly launched.
An international mountain rescue team is coordinating the operation, the statement said, supported by experienced international mountaineers present in the region.
Also due to the remoteness of the area, the rescue helicopter was only able to reach the accident site on Tuesday morning, her management said.
"Further information will be made available as soon as reliable findings are available," the statement said.
Dahlmeier, 31, is a state-certified mountain and ski guide, and an active member of Germany's mountain rescue organization. She is considered an experienced and risk-aware mountaineer.
She had been in the Karakorum region since the end of June with friends and had climbed the 6,287m Great Trango Tower on July 8. The Laila Peak was the second planned summit.
She told dpa last year that for her, "a certain spirit of adventure, a certain loneliness, choosing your own route, sporting spontaneity and flexibility" are important when mountaineering.
Dahlmeier has criticized mass tourism in the Himalayas and said that she was not interested in climbing the world's highest peak, Mount Everest.
Bavarian Dahlmeier has been mountaineering, as well as trail and mountain running, for years, especially since ending her glittering biathlon career at age 25 in 2019.
She made her World Cup debut in 2013 and went on to win 20 individual races between 2015 and 2019.
Her most successful season was 2016-17 when she won five golds and a bronze at the world championships as well as the overall World Cup title.
Dahlmeier won two golds and a bronze at the 2018 Winter Olympics, and her final tally from world championships was seven gold medals, three silver and five bronze.
Germany's 2017 Sportswoman of the Year remained widely popular after ending her career because she had no more goals in the sport. She worked as a TV pundit covering biathlon in recent years.
"The IBU and the entire biathlon family is thinking of Dahlmeier and her family, hoping for good news to emerge soon," the ruling biathlon body IBU said on their website.
Twelve-time biathlon world champion Magdalena Neuer said on Instagram: "I am thinking of you, Laura."
Triple Olympic luge champion Felix Loch said: "Suddenly time stands still. We are all thinking of you, Laura!!"
Category: General Sports
