Under seven seasons, the German Laura Dahlmeier competed at the highest level in biathlon and became World Championship queen in 2017 when she took five gold and one silver. She also took two Olympic Games gold the following year and one bronze in the distance race – which Hanna Öberg won.
I feel honored to have shared the competition track with her, and those memories I will carry with me. My warmest thoughts go to her loved ones, says Hanna Öberg to Expressen.
The International Biathlon Union's chairman Olle Dahlin says to TT that he remembers Dahlmeier as "one of the world's most prominent biathletes with an enormous career".
But I also remember her in her new job as an expert commentator for ZDF when she was involved in every World Cup competition they broadcast. I have met her regularly. She feels very close due to the fact that she has been involved in different guises for many years.
Followed her heart
The active career ended as early as 2019 when Dahlmeier was 25 years old and lacked motivation to continue.
She had the strength to quit, despite being so good. She chose to follow her heart and her passion – and that was nature and climbing, says Mona Brorsson, who has put skis and rifle on the shelf, to Expressen.
Sweden's national team captain Johannes Lukas belonged to the same training group as Dahlmeier for six years, when they were both active, and tells that she often visited the Alps to be in the mountains.
Every weekend she was there and climbed, and she loved it so much and was so good at it. She loved the mountains and she was a great climber. It's just unimaginable that she's no longer with us, he says to SVT.
"Infectious laughter"
Germany's ski and biathlon association is also mourning its former national team star:
"She was not only one of the most successful female athletes in the history of the German Ski Association, but also an extraordinary person full of joy, courage, and warmth – in and outside biathlon. She touched and inspired us with her passion for sports, her down-to-earth nature, and her infectious laughter", the association writes on Instagram.
