A year on…Remembering Laura Dahlmeier
July 28, 2025 is one of those days that will be forever etched in the collective memory of the Biathlon Family; the day of Laura Dahlmeier’s untimely and tragic death on a mountain peak in Pakistan. Her demise shocked the sport to its core, but her legacy, unique personality and special smile will live on.
Dahlmeier lived her life to the fullest. The life-long Garmisch-Partenkirchen resident was a child of the mountains, surrounded by towering peaks she left behind for brief periods in her biathlon career, but always drawn back the moment she had free time. Once retired from competition, the mountains became her focus, bringing her sporting passion and professionalism to mountaineering. She left the world doing what she wanted in those mountains she loved.
Although always a bit media-shy, her move to ZDF as an expert commentator was a bit surprising to some, but she was a perfect fit, tackling the job with the same professionalism and dedication she showed as a competitor. Former colleague Sven Fischer who worked on the tracks and behind the microphone alongside Dahlmeier at ZDF lamented her death at the time speaking to Welt.de, “She was our sunshine. Work will not be the same anymore…”
On a day when we remember her, the best way to celebrate Dahlmeier is to look back to her beyond-outstanding 2016-17 season. Just for the record books that season the then 23-year-old won ten times, won Gold medals in 5 of her 6 competitions at the IBU World Championships (only losing the sprint to Gabriela Soukalova by a mere 4 seconds), and capped the year by taking the World Cup Total Score as well as the Individual and Pursuit Score Globes.
Although several other athletes have won 5 Gold medals at the IBU WCH, no one has ever matched the German star’s 5 Gold and 1 Silver in Hochfilzen. After the dust settled that season, she felt a bit amazed but undeniably proud of her IBU WCH success.
“Five Gold medals in six races was perfect for me; I am so happy about it. Hochfilzen is so special, in the Alps, you can see the mountains, and it is so close to my home. My aim was to win one individual medal and one with the team. After a medal in the sprint, I thought I could win the pursuit. Then I just stayed focused from race to race. It was like a dream…but the last one, the mass start was perfect, four times zero.”
"I never thought that, never"
Winning the Total Score and wearing the Yellow Bib were far from her mind when that season started. “I never thought that, never. But the whole season was good, always in the top 10…It was not my aim to win the Yellow Bib. Perhaps it was best to not focus on the Yellow Bib, but just one race to the other.”
Acknowledging the media pressure, Dahlmeier smiled, admitting what was most important during the season. “For me it is important to make good races and not just good interviews!”
After a spectacular season of victories, medals, and three Crystal Globes, Dahlmeier spoke of her love for the mountains that would become her future. “At the end of the season, I look forward to coming home and go climbing…If you are outside in the mountains, every person is the same. It does not matter if you have a good job or a lot of money. You work as a team in the mountains. We are all normal there and forget about time. You forget about material things and that is cool.”
That maybe defines Laura Dahlmeier, not the victories or medals but the mountains, and the simplicity/normality they bring.
On this day, we remember Laura with a fond smile just as she would have wished.
Photos: IBU/Christian Manzoni, Archive
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