Laura Dahlmeier’s death shakes the sports world. A commentary veteran bids farewell to the successful athlete in an emotional obituary.
The sympathy of the sports world after the tragic accidental death of Laura Dahlmeier is immense. One of the most well-known sports commentators in Germany, Sigi Heinrich, who has been the voice of Eurosport for more than 25 years and accompanied the successes of the former biathlete, bids an emotional farewell.
In his obituary for Dahlmeier, Heinrich speaks of “a thousand questions” that accompanied him while writing: “Why, why Laura? Especially her, who was always so careful.”
Sigi Heinrich accompanies biathlon as a commentator for Eurosport, among other things
He writes that he is “shocked, somehow also at a loss”: “I have observed every, really every official step she took in the tracks of the many stadiums and admired her boundless calm, her self-confidence at the shooting range. As a reporter, you are allowed to do that in exceptional cases. And Laura was an exception.”
Dahlmeier’s secret to success was her “naturalness”
Dahlmeier’s secret to success was her “naturalness”. “She satisfied longings. Like Rosi Mittermaier and yes, also like Magdalena Neuner. The likeable girls from the mountains. Close to nature, down-to-earth. And then also incredibly successful.”
But the early retirement from the sport at the age of 25 made it clear how much the hype surrounding her role as a world-class biathlete got on Dahlmeier’s nerves.
“For Laura, the end was a beginning. Finally, she could live out her love for the mountains without restrictions,” says Heinrich, who knows Dahlmeier’s father Andreas and her aunt Regina Stiefl well.
“Breathing after the prison of biathlon”
Even in her new life, Dahlmeier awakened longings in many people, “because who can say that they simply do what they want to do right now. For her, that meant: get out into the fresh air, look at the world from above. Breathe in, breathe out after the prison of biathlon.”
Here Dahlmeier explained her love for the mountains
Dahlmeier’s management had confirmed the death of the 31-year-old on Wednesday afternoon. Dahlmeier died after a mountain accident on Laila Peak in Pakistan.
The experienced mountain guide had already been hit by a rockfall on Monday afternoon. According to Heinrich, she did not act recklessly.
Dahlmeier was aware of the dangers
“Laura Dahlmeier did not have an accident because she was too daring. She was always aware of possible dangers, which she carefully weighed. She knew the mountains, their ruggedness, but she loved their magic,” wrote the TV commentator.
Dahlmeier was happy “where people have to fight for every step and move”.
She had “climbed many peaks. In her old life as a biathlete, in her new life as a mountaineer,” said Heinrich. “Now there is only incomprehension, somehow, speechlessness, sadness, also anger, somehow.”