Bakken: He was wearing a hypoxic mask at the time of his death

The Norwegian biathlete Sivert Guttorm Bakken was wearing a hypoxic mask for training at altitude when he was found dead on Monday at just 27 years old in a room of the Albergo Dolomiti del Passo di Lavazè, in Trentino. The news was given by the Norwegian biathlon federation, which stated that “the circumstances surrounding the acquisition and use of this mask are currently unknown”. The statement reads that the athlete’s autopsy will be performed in Italy in the next few days, with Bakken’s family members who are in contact with the local police. “The police and forensics will clarify the course of events and the cause of death. As soon as we have further information, we will inform the media,” the federation said.

pericarditis

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Bakken was forced to stop from competitive activity in 2023 due to pericarditis, but after almost two years of stopping he returned as a protagonist in the World Cup with the leading nation in the international men’s movement. The “Elevation Training Mask”, known by the acronym Etm, is a device that is becoming widespread among athletes and which allows the passage of oxygen to the mouth to be reduced by up to 6-10 times to – according to the indications of those who produce them and also market them on the web – improve breathing capacity, increase lung capacity and resistance in hypoxia, a sort of adjustable suffocation. An instrument which, however, remains controversial and which apparently is not at all immune to risks for those who wear it.