The first men’s biathlon race of the new year was all about Sivert Guttorm Bakken. And Tommaso Giacomel, a close confidant of the late Norwegian, won. The best German in the sprint in Oberhof was Philipp Nawrath, who also made it onto the podium.
The men’s sprint in Oberhof – it was no ordinary race. It was the first competition after the sudden death of Norwegian biathlete Sivert Guttorm Bakken, whose unexpected death before Christmas left the biathlon world in shock.
Symbolic start number 1
In Oberhof, Bakken, who died at the age of just 27, was remembered. The Norwegian team and his good friend Tommaso Giacomel from Italy stood tightly packed in the start area before the start and watched a film for Bakken on the screens in the arena on Rennsteig with tears in their eyes. They also started with mourning ribbon on their arms.
Bakken was symbolically given starting number 1, and before the start the obligatory five-second countdown sounded to the clapping of the athletes and fans – but the track remained empty. The Latvian Renars Birkentals ultimately had the difficult task of being the first to take on this special race.
In addition to the tragedy at Bakken, the Norwegian team at Grenzadler had to do without World Cup leader Johan-Olav Botn and Sturla Holm Laegreid, who did not start due to illness. “We don’t expect much from ourselves this week, we want to honor Sievert here and do our best”Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen had said in the days before the race.
Victory for Giacomel – Nawrath second
As in the Hollywood script, victory was ultimately secured by Giacomel, who after one penalty lap was 13.2 seconds faster than Philipp Nawrath (also 1 penalty lap). Johannes Dale-Skjevdal, Bakken’s teammate, came third (1/+25.2 seconds).
Nawrath narrowly missed the first German men’s individual victory in almost exactly two years. On January 5, 2024, Benedikt Doll, who has since retired, also won the Oberhof sprint. Since then, the DSV men have been waiting for a World Cup success.
All Germans in pursuit
The second best athlete in the sextet of the German Ski Association (DSV) was Philipp Horn in seventh place (1/+38.7 seconds). With just one mistake in the standing stage, David Zobel not only secured twelfth place, but also half the Olympic standard. Lucas Fratzscher (2+/1:24.1 minutes) just missed out on the top 15 in 16th place. Justus Strelow missed out on a top position with three mistakes and finished 46th. That was at least enough for the pursuer to qualify, as was World Cup returnee Johannes Kühn, who secured the last place for Saturday’s race in 60th place (5/+2:27.7 minutes).
Giacomel can’t be happy about victory
In the interview that followed, it was clear to the winner how hard the days in Oberhof were for him. When asked if he was happy about the victory, the visibly moved Italian said: “Not really. It’s really strange today. It’s one of my best days in biathlon and at the same time one of the worst because Sievert is no longer here. That makes me extremely sad.” He dedicated his victory to his late friend.