It starts under sad auspices on Thursday (11.30 a.m./live ORF 1) with the sprint of the Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof. It is the first race after the Norwegian’s sudden death Sivert Bakken. At a press conference on Wednesday Thomas Giacomel not holding back his tears at the memories of his dead friend. “It goes up and down. I have a lot of negative thoughts, especially in the evening when I go to bed and close my eyes,” said the Italian.
The first meeting with the Norwegians on Monday in the dressing room at the Oberhofer Stadium was terrible. “I immediately started crying. He should be here and he’s not,” Giacomel said. His focus during training on Tuesday was almost zero. Despite his deep sadness, he started. He would dedicate a possible Olympic victory at the Winter Games in Antholz in February to his friend, who also had a good chance of being nominated.
Bakken’s teammate Johan-Olav Botn found the 27-year-old dead in his hotel room in Lavazé on December 23rd. He was wearing an altitude mask when he was found. The Norwegians were in Italy for altitude training. The results of the autopsy could not be available until early March.
Funeral on Tuesday
Bakken’s funeral is next Tuesday in Lillehammer. Many of the Norwegian team will be there, as team manager Per Arne Botnan confirmed to Norwegian media. They will fly to Norway on Monday in order to return to Germany after the funeral on Tuesday evening, where the World Cup will continue on Wednesday in Ruhpolding. In Oberhof, the sprint that was scheduled for Friday was postponed to Thursday afternoon (2:15 p.m., live ORF 1) brought forward.