The Biathlon community is mourning Norwegian biathlete Sivert Guttorm Bakken after tragically passing away before Christmas.
The 27-year-old was midway through the biathlon season having competed just last weekend in the world cup series in France, coming 5th in the sprint, 18th in the pursuit, and 20th in the mass start.
Bakken was 13th in the world cup standings, and his death has come as a huge shock to the biathlon community.
The International Biathlon Union have said: “The IBU is deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic news of Sivert Bakken’s sudden death.”
In 2022 the Norwegian athlete stepped away from the sport for two years to recover from heart problems, but returned to represent his national team this season.
Bakken was due to ski with Italian biathlete Tomaso Giacomel the morning after his death.
On Instagram Giacomel said: “From this moment on I will carry [Bakken] with me, not just in every race but in every training session and moment of my life as well. It will be really hard to compete and train without [him] in the future but I will do my best to make [him] proud. We will continue to pursue the dream of being two of the best biathletes in the world together.”
The cause of the Winter Olympics hopeful’s death remains unknown but many people from the biathlon community have shared their condolences to his family.
