Duty of remembrance. The Biathlon World Cup resumed this Thursday with a big absentee: Sivert BakkenThe Norwegian biathlete is He died on December 23rd, at the age of 27.in his hotel. The circumstances remain unclear, and the biathlon world has been left in shock. A tribute was paid to him before the start of the men's sprint, Thursday morning, in Oberhof (Germany). Following the release of a video dedicated to his career, a minute of applause was respected in his memory.
Hvil i fred, Sivert. 🤍
— International Biathlon Union (@biathlonworld) January 8, 2026
The start gate remains empty at the beginning of today's men sprint - and Bakken's teammates and friends hold bib 1 dedicated to him. 😔 pic.twitter.com/SMJsubGtgt
The emotion was palpable on the face of Italian Tommaso Giacomel, one of his close friends, and of the Norwegian team. He had been symbolically assigned bib number 1. on the starting list for this sprint. Bakken occupied 13th place in the overall standings and could legitimately hope to participate in the Milan-Cortina Games. He had achieved four top-10 finishes this season, including a fourth place in the individual race in Östersund. Fittingly, it was his friend Giacomel who won the race.
