Looking skyward to his deceased friend: Tommaso Giacomel wins the sprint race at the Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof and remembers the deceased Norwegian Sivert Bakken. A German is also on the podium.
When biathlete Tommaso Giacomel reached the finish line of the Oberhof sprint race, he stretched his right arm with the mourning ribbon towards the sky – in memory of the Norwegian Sivert Bakken. The two were friends. A little later it was clear: the Italian actually won the race a good two weeks after the sudden death of Bakken, who was only 27 years old.
In Oberhof, Giacomel was 13.2 seconds ahead of second-placed Philipp Nawrath after ten kilometers. The Norwegian Johannes Dale-Skjevdal (+25.2 seconds), whom Giacomel hugged in the finish area, came third. “There’s not really anything to celebrate today,” said the 25-year-old Italian after the race, emphasizing how difficult the past two weeks had been for him. They were “the worst ever” for him and he often thought about Bakken during the race.
Giacomel and Bakken had been friends for nine years. On the day of the news of his death, the Italian reported on Instagram that they had planned to go skiing together. “But you didn’t show up. We also planned to celebrate New Year’s Eve together, but you won’t be there,” he wrote.
In Oberhof, Giacomel said that he would “always carry Sivert with him, in everything in life.” This was a special person for him. He dedicated his victory to him.
In memory: Start number 1 for Bakken
In the first race after Bakken’s unexpected death, Philipp Horn was seventh, the second best German. David Zobel came twelfth, Lucas Fratzscher came in 16th. This gave the quartet a good starting position for the pursuit on Saturday (12 p.m./ARD and Eurosport).
Before the opening race in Oberhof there was a memorial ceremony for Sivert Bakken. The Norwegian biathletes tearfully held up the starting number 1 drawn by Bakken and applauded in memory of their former teammate.
Bakken’s teammate Johan-Olav Botn, who is currently absent due to illness, found the 27-year-old dead in his hotel room in Lavazé, Italy, on December 23rd. The Norwegians had been there for altitude training. The results of the autopsy will probably not be available until early March. Bakken’s funeral will be on Tuesday in Lillehammer, Norway.
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