It is the first World Cup since the sudden death of biathlete Sivert Guttorm Bakken. In Oberhof, the Norwegian team is trying to come to terms with the loss.
There is a lot of emptiness and tears. When the biathletes meet again in Oberhof after the Christmas break, nothing is the same as it was before December 23rd. The day before Christmas Eve, Sivert Guttorm Bakken, aged 27, died in training camp. Since then, the Norwegian biathlon team has been in shock.
“Sivert was a very good friend. He was a big personality in the whole milieu. It was a big shock and a tragedy for Norwegian biathlon”says teammate Sverre Dahlen Aspenes in the Sportschau interview. Bakken was a great inspiration. Even when he couldn’t train for two years due to inflammation of the heart muscle, he was always very focused. “He really wanted to come back and he did it. That was actually unbelievable”Aspenes looks back.
Sverre Dahlen Aspenes: “Shock and a tragedy”
“It has to go on. Somehow”
After his death, Bakken’s teammates asked themselves more than once whether it all still made sense. “It’s a sad situation. But we’re all here together, that’s also a good way to move on. It has to go on. Somehow”says Aspenes. The Norwegians decided not to start. It wouldn’t have been in the spirit of her late friend. They agree on this.
But in Oberhof’s days, thoughts keep wandering away. “We don’t expect much from ourselves this week. We want to honor Sivert here and do our best”explained Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen.
Giacomel cries for friend
One person who was particularly close to Bakken was the Italian Tommaso Giacomel. They wanted to train together, get the finishing touches for the Olympics and welcome the new year. Now Giacomel is in Oberhof, but his friend is missing. “I started crying. He should be here, but he isn’t. That’s hard” said Giacomel, who couldn’t hold 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”says the Italian biathlete at a press conference in Oberhof.
Despite the deep sadness, he started. “I will do my best to make him proud. And that’s what Sivert would have wanted. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t ready to start”said the Italian. He would dedicate a possible Olympic victory at the Winter Games in Antholz in February to his friend.
Funeral on Tuesday in Lillehammer
On the morning of December 23rd, World Cup leader Johann Olaf Botten found Bakken’s lifeless body in the hotel room. The cause of death is still unknown. Autopsy results are expected in March.
Bakken’s funeral is next Tuesday in Lillehammer. Many of the Norwegian team will be there. They are flying to Norway on Monday in order to return to Germany after the funeral on Tuesday evening. The World Cup starts on Wednesday in Ruhpolding with the women’s relay.
Source: Sanny Stephan with material from dpa