ZDF is working on a documentary about former biathlete and passionate mountaineer Laura Dahlmeier (1993-2025), who was struck on the head by a rock during a mountaineering accident in Pakistan's Karakoram Mountains in late July 2025 and died at the age of only 31.
Her tragic death touched many people deeply. As Google's year-in-review showed, no other prominent death moved Germans in 2025 more than that of Laura Dahlmeier. Accordingly, the new film is likely to generate great interest. An exact broadcast date is not yet known, with reports indicating an airing next winter.
Making her life tangible and palpable
The working title already shows how personal the film will be. The tragic circumstances of her death will likely not be left out either. A network spokesperson told the news agency spot on news that a 90-minute documentary with the working title 'Laura' about the life and death of the world-class biathlete, popular TV expert and freedom-loving extreme mountaineer Laura Dahlmeier is currently being filmed for ZDF.
Numerous companions are also expected to have their say. According to the spokesperson, the documentary will be told through archival material, interviews, stories and anecdotes from people who experienced Laura Dahlmeier and thus make her life tangible and palpable.
Laura Dahlmeier was an expert at ZDF
As was announced over the weekend, Gruppe 5 Filmproduktion GmbH, which is majority-owned by ZDF Studios GmbH, is responsible for the production. Filming is taking place at several locations. The fact that ZDF is making this film in particular has a backstory. Dahlmeier was connected to the network for years, first as an athlete, later as a colleague. After her retirement from active biathlon sports in 2019, she switched to the microphone and worked as an expert. In front of the camera, she appeared alongside Sven Fischer and Denise Herrmann-Wick, among others.
At the beginning of last winter, she was supposed to be working for ZDF again. After her death, the network deliberately refrained from filling the position in order to honor her memory. Already in 2024, ZDF had released the documentary 'Laura Dahlmeier und die Liebe zu den Bergen' in which the biathlon legend talked about her life after her sports career as a mountain guide and alpinist.
Two Olympic victories and seven world championship titles
Laura Dahlmeier had an accident on July 28 of last year at around 5,700 meters altitude on Laila Peak. Two days later, her management announced her death. In sports terms, she was one of the defining figures of her generation. She won Olympic gold twice and became world champion seven times.
