In a difficult moment, Karoline Simpson-Larsen drew strength from Sivert Bakken’s attitude. Losing a friend has been hard for the Norwegian star.
Sivert Bakken was found dead in his hotel room. Kimmo Brandt / EPA / AOP
Norwegian Karoline Simpson-Larsen burst into tears on Sunday. The skier was the first to the top of Alpe Cermis and won the grueling final stage of the Tour de Ski.
At the finish line, Simpson-Larsen revealed that she was thinking about the biathlete who died just before Christmas, Sivert Bakken. Spouse of Simpson-Larsen Johan-Olav Botn found his teammate dead in a hotel room in Lavaze, Italy.
The skier communicated with Bakken only a day before his death.
– The last thing he said was that he believes in me. He said he would come here to see [kisoja] with Johan. It would have meant a lot to me, Simpson-Larsen said according to SVT On the Viaplay broadcast.
Simpson-Larsen and Botn were close friends of Bakken. The Norwegian skier considered skipping the Tour de Ski because of the concussion.
During Sunday’s interview, Simpson-Larsen struggled to hold back tears. for NRK he said that he also got inspiration from the tragic events of the last few weeks.
– Sivert was a person who never gave up, but always continued forward. I have tried to draw inspiration from it.
A friend found
Karoline Simpson-Larsen was a friend of Bakken. Jussi Saarinen
Botn found Bakken dead in a hotel room on December 23. He called for help, but nothing could be done.
Bakken was wearing a training mask on his face, which is used to restrict oxygen intake. The mask simulates high altitude training. It was adjusted to correspond to an altitude of 7,000 meters above sea level.
The biathlete’s cause of death is not clear. It is also unknown if the use of the mask has any connection to the Bakken death.