On this July 28, the anniversary of Laura Dahlmeier's (1993-2025) death is marked for the first time. At an altitude of 5,700 meters on Laila Peak in Pakistan's Karakoram range, the former biathlete was struck in the head by a rock while rappelling. Two days later, her management confirmed her death. She was 31 years old.
Her body was never recovered. That is exactly what the state-certified mountain and ski guide had stipulated in writing: No one should take any risks for her. One year later, this sentence has become a kind of legacy. Her family will mark the anniversary in a small circle, father Andreas Dahlmeier told dpa in advance. No public memorial event is planned.
Turning back just before the summit
Laura Dahlmeier's rope partner Marina Krauss described what happened three days after the rockfall accident at an improvised press conference in Skardu. The two women had decided to turn back before the summit. Krauss had already reached the next rappelling point when it happened. "I watched as Laura was hit by a huge rock and then thrown against the wall", she said according to "Bayerischer Rundfunk". After that, there was no response. According to management, Krauss initially tried for hours to recover the victim. She sent out an emergency call and descended to base camp.
The weather forecast had been good, but during the day the snow became softer. "If we had been half an hour earlier, we would have come down safely", Krauss said. Extreme mountaineer Thomas Huber (59), who had tried to reach Dahlmeier, defended their decisions. His words from that time have stuck: "The summit is not the goal, but life."
Body could not be recovered
Then followed a back-and-forth. The Alpine Club of Pakistan announced a recovery at the end of July, as soon as the weather would allow. In mid-September, management clarified that a recovery team had reassessed the situation on Laila Peak and the body would remain on the mountain. Huber had set out again at the family's request. "When Thomas went to Laila Peak again, she was no longer findable", father Andreas Dahlmeier told "Spiegel" in October. "We would have liked to bring Laura home."
In December, he spoke in "Sport Bild" about the days after the accident. "Laura must have been dead immediately", said the mountain rescuer, who had taken his daughter climbing from an early age. A storm later loosened many rocks that buried her beneath them. "Maybe she wanted it that way too." His daughter now rests there, "where she was happy and felt free". He knows exactly what she would tell him: "Go out climbing, Papa!"
Hundreds of candles in the snow
In her homeland, remembrance began as early as August 2025. At that time, a funeral service was held at the pilgrimage church of St. Anton in Garmisch-Partenkirchen with 200 invited guests.
In September, the municipal council unanimously decided to rename the previously unnamed spa park. The Laura Dahlmeier Park was inaugurated on February 27, 2026, in the snow and by candlelight. Several hundred people came, reported "Kreisbote". Then-mayor Elisabeth Koch explained the choice of memorial site for the multiple biathlon Olympic champion and world champion this way: "A stadium would have been obvious. A sports facility perhaps. But: She sought vastness and tranquility, certainly not the spotlight." Mother Susi Dahlmeier called the gesture "incredibly beautiful". The event was concluded by children from the ski club who lit candles along a symbolic cross-country track.
The seat at ZDF remains empty
At ZDF, where Dahlmeier had worked as an expert since December 2019, her position remained unfilled. Denise Herrmann-Wick handled the biathlon analysis for the 2026 Olympic season as sole expert.
The German Ski Association established a Laura Dahlmeier Award for young talent, deliberately open to all disciplines and in consultation with the parents. "At the German Ski Association, we deliberately took time to think about how we can honor Laura in a dignified way in the future - as an exceptional athlete, but above all as a special person", DSV board member Stefan Schwarzbach told "BR". The award will be presented for the first time in October.
How deeply Laura Dahlmeier's death moved the country was also shown by Google's 2025 year-in-review: No celebrity passing caused search interest in Germany to rise more sharply.
90 minutes about life and death
The next chapter is already underway. A 90-minute documentary with the working title "Laura" is being produced for ZDF by Gruppe 5 Filmproduktion. A network spokesperson confirmed to news agency spot on news that the film addresses "the life and death of the world-class biathlete, beloved TV expert and freedom-loving extreme mountaineer".
The story will be told through archival material, interviews and anecdotes from people who knew her. An air date has not yet been set, with broadcast planned for next winter.
In sports, she leaves behind a record that few have matched in its density: two Olympic gold medals, seven world championship titles and 33 World Cup victories as an individual and with the relay team. In 2019, Dahlmeier ended her career at age 25 to dedicate herself to the mountains.
