The Norwegian biathlete Sivert Bakken, who died shortly before Christmas, will be buried in Lillehammer on Tuesday. His teammates will pay him their last respects and appear together at the memorial service.
In the midst of the World Cup and pre-Olympic stress, the Norwegian biathlon men are facing one of their toughest days.
As the broadcaster “TV2” reports, the entire team will be present at Sivert Bakken’s funeral in Lillehammer on Tuesday. The Ruhpolding starters will then travel back to Germany in the evening.
A private memorial service will be held for the women’s team and other members of the Norwegian team who cannot attend. For organizational reasons they cannot be there in Lillehammer, as the first race in Ruhpolding is scheduled for them on Wednesday.
At the explicit request of the family of the deceased Bakken, the funeral service will not be shown live on Norwegian television. “They do not want the press to be present in the church during the ceremony,” the family’s attorney said in a press release.
Bakken’s cause of death remains unclear
Sivert Bakken was found dead in his hotel room in Lavazè on December 23rd. Johan-Olav Botn found his teammate lifeless that day.
To date, nothing is known about the cause of death. The investigators have already announced that the investigation will take longer and that an official report could not be published until the beginning of March.
The investigation will also examine what role an altitude mask Bakken was wearing when he was found may have played. So far, authorities have neither confirmed nor denied that the device caused the 27-year-old’s death.