German Olympic gold medalist Laura Dahlmeier has died in a climbing accident, rescuers confirmed. The 31-year-old was caught in a rockfall at an altitude of around 18,700 feet as she was climbing Laila Peak in the Karakoram mountain range in Pakistan on Monday. Dahlmeier’s management told German newspaper Die Welt on Wednesday that she most likely died from her injuries that day. “It was Laura Dahlmeier’s express and written will that in a case like this, no-one should risk their life to recover her,” they said. It added that “it was her wish to leave her body behind on the mountain in this case.” German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid tribute to the “exceptional sportswoman” Wednesday. “Laura Dahlmeier was an ambassador for our country in the world, a role model for peaceful, cheerful and fair coexistence across borders,” he wrote. President of the International Olympic Committee Kirsty Coventry said that Dahlmeier “lost her life in her beloved mountains,” and that “she will be remembered forever.” Dahlmeier won two gold medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in sprint and pursuit races, as well as bronze in the individual competition. She won 15 more medals in World Championships before retiring in 2019 and becoming a state-certified mountain and ski guide in 2023.
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