Sivert Bakken gives insights into the “hardest time” of his life

Biathlon professional gives honest insights

“It just kept getting worse and worse”

Biathlete Sivert Bakken was recently able to celebrate a podium finish again. The path to get there was a hard one – the Norwegian speaks honestly about a long period of suffering.

Norwegian biathlete Sivert Bakken wishes his followers a Merry Christmas with a podium photo. The third-place finisher in the sprint in Obertilliach (Austria) smiles about his medal in the Ibu Cup in the snapshot. The 26-year-old wrote about the picture: “Can start counting podium places again, unbelievable. Many thanks to everyone who supports.”

For Bakken, third place over the 10 kilometers has a special meaning: it is the first podium after a very long period of suffering. The Norwegian made his World Cup debut in January 2021 and won the World Cup mass start ranking at the end of the 2021/22 season. But then an inflammation of the heart muscle slowed him down due to his third vaccination against Covid-19.

The Norwegian biathlete remembers the moment in an interview with “Sport 1”: “I waited until the end of the 2022 season because I didn’t want to risk anything. At the beginning it was going well. But after about three to four weeks “My body just didn’t feel normal anymore. It just kept getting worse and worse.” Bakken could no longer do any sports and biathlon training was out of the question. He had to wait a long time before he got a diagnosis.

“All I could do was listen to my body every day and hope that it would get better. That was the hardest time of my life. Two and a half years are incredibly hard,” continued Sivert Bakken. In an interview with “Sport 1” he also admitted that he was afraid of a possible end to his career: “It’s logical that I had a lot of doubts about that.”

Over the course of this year, his health continued to improve. Bakken was able to qualify for the Ibu Cup team and his results since then speak for him. In Idre Fjäll (Sweden) Sivert Bakken came fourth in the pursuit. He also achieved the same placement in the mass start 60 in Obertilliach. Shortly before Christmas he was able to get on the podium after the sprint there.

Bakken: “My form is of course not as good as it was two and a half years ago. But the first results were much better than I expected.” The young Norwegian knows that the competition in the World Cup for the top biathlete Johannes Thingnes Bö is strong. Nevertheless, his long-term goal is to get back there: “If things go well, maybe something will be possible next winter.”