Sivt Guttorm Bakken from Norway is the new sprint European champion in the biathlon. It is his greatest success to date – afterwards it was correspondingly great.
“This victory means a lot to me,” cheered Sivert Guttorm Bakken on the microphone of “SVT” after his sprint victory in Martell’s Italian.
The 26-year-old had become eighth in the singles over the 20 kilometers at the start on Wednesday, now he celebrated the European title in front of his compatriot Vetle Sjastad Christiansen and the Austrian Frederik Mühlbacher. Bakken added: “This is the confirmation that my work was right.”
Bakken has had major problems coming back to the world leaders in the past two years. After a third vaccination against Coronavirus in 2022, he no longer took part in competitions before he was able to fight back at the beginning of this winter.
In the IBU Cup, Bakken has so far been able to drive five podium places this season, twice he was at the top of the podium.
Biathlete Bakken gets everything out of itself at the final round
In the Martell European Championship sprint, the basic requirement for placement on the podium was a faultless shooting. Christiansen and Mühlbacher were also flawless, but Bakken ultimately finished 6.6 seconds before his compatriot.
“My plan was not to tackle the race too quickly to keep my grains for the end,” said the ski hunter after the race: “One kilometer before the end I was informed that I was only three seconds behind Vetle. I brought everything out of myself again, “he gave an insight into his strategy:” It was a really good competition from me for my current form and I’m happy about this medal. “
It continues with the chasing on Saturday (1:45 p.m.). Finally, the relay race follows on Sunday (1:45 p.m.).