The day before Christmas Eve, Sivert Guttorm Bakken was found dead in his hotel room, wearing a high-altitude mask.
During the competitions in Oberhof this weekend, the Norwegian was praised in unison by the biathlon world, and he was honored, among other things, with starting number 1 in the men’s sprint.
Now he has also been buried, among family and friends as well as several national team colleagues.
“Goodbye”
One of them was Sturla Holm Lägreid, who wants to remember Bakken as an inspiration.
– Sivert has really inspired me. I have known him for a long time and have seen his ups and downs. In his fight back against the disease. He was told to just give up and do something else, but Sivert never gave up. He fought like no other, his story is incredibly strong, Lägreid says VG and continues:
– I wanted to show up and be here for them, for the family and for Sivert. For me, it is important to be here to be able to say goodbye to Sivert.
“Nice in its own way”
Another person who was present in Nordre Ål church in Lillehammer for the ceremony was Emilie Nordskär, the biathlon association’s acting general secretary.
– It will be terribly heavy and sad, but also beautiful in its own way. It is very good to gather the family and be together on a day like this, she told the newspaper before the ceremony.
Sivert Guttorm Bakken was 27 years old.
