Laura Dahlmeier broke the spell of gold and brought Germany its first victory at the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. The triumph in the sprint made a childhood dream come true for her personally.
Laura Dahlmeier was carried on her shoulders through the stadium, at the end of her dreams she closed her eyes, the world stood still.
“I just wanted to enjoy the moment and this indescribable feeling,”said the freshly-baked biathlon Olympic champion after the realisation of her childhood dream and added with longing:”I dreamt so much about this day and I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time. I can’t really believe it yet.”
The feeling of happiness flooded the otherwise controlled Bavarian woman even long after the phenomenal gold run, Dahlmeier joked and seemed to be more relaxed than ever before. And if there were still proof of the pressure that fell off the narrow shoulders of the 24-year-olds on this historic evening – a look at their faces would have been enough.
“The pressure was the hardest part, everyone expected a medal,”said Dahlmeier. It was not without reason that Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had defied the sub-zero temperatures in the stands, and it was not without reason that the eyes of an entire nation turned to this small powerhouse. And Dahlmeier? She delivered. Just like you’re used to from her nowadays.
The acclaimed sprint victory at the winter games in Pyeongchang was then the perfect race for the ambitious Dahlmeier himself:”These 20 minutes in which she impressively demonstrated her supremacy among the female ski hunters and, incidentally, broke the golden spell of” Team D “with her first chance.
For Dahlmeier himself, of course, the latter only played a minor role, which was “rather exciting for the people around him”. For a seven-time world champion, who has always gone her own way and had won everything there is to win, the only thing that counted was the completion of her sporting life’s work. No matter when. No matter where.
“Olympic champion. This is a dream that I have been pursuing since childhood,”said Dahlmeier. At that time, she had already practiced the right jubilant poses on her bunk bed, she wanted to be prepared for the big day. When he had arrived, she jumped onto the podium with a mighty set and roared the joy into the bitterly cold night sky.
“I thought at the finish line that it was a good race and with a bit of luck I might be enough to win a medal,”said Dahlmeier. She had “given everything and fought all the way to the end” – which, however, was not the deciding factor on this day in tricky conditions.
It was much more the serenity and patience at the shooting range that turned out to be the key to gold. In the style of a world-class athlete, Dahlmeier readjusted her diopter after the first of the ten shots due to the strong wind.
When the gusts of wind made her shake a little later when she stood still, the Bavarian kept calm for a moment – and cleared all the windows again.
National coach Gerald Hönig spoke of a “focused and concentrated performance. Laura only pulls the trigger when she sees the perfect hit picture.”
And Kati Wilhelm, who had won an Olympic sprint in 2002 as the only German ever to win an Olympic sprint, acknowledged:”That was sovereign. I think if we start with a medal, it could be really big games for Laura.”
But Dahlmeier didn’t want to go that far. Not yet.”I don’t care what tomorrow or in a week’s time,”she said. For once only the moment counted. Quite right.