"He lives on in our hearts" Emotional farewell: biathlete Bakken buried in Lillehammer
The sudden death of Sivert Guttorm Bakken shook the Norwegian biathlon team. Now the 27-year-old has been laid to rest in Lillehammer. His teammates traveled all the way from Germany.
13.01.2026, 19:50
13.01.2026, 19:55
dpa
The Norwegian biathlete Sivert Guttorm Bakken was buried in an emotional ceremony in his home town of Lillehammer on Tuesday morning. In addition to family and friends, numerous team colleagues such as Sturla Holm Laegreid, Johan-Olav Botn and Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen bid farewell to the 27-year-old in the packed Nordre Al church.
"It was an incredibly worthy tribute. But the beautiful and the sad often go hand in hand. It was of course incredibly sad, but a lot of beautiful words were said that described Sivert as he was," said Christiansen. "He was genuine and honest and a thoroughly upstanding person." He will always remember the many beautiful moments with his teammate.
The Norwegian men's team flew home for the funeral after the World Cup in Oberhof and will return to Germany on Tuesday evening. They will continue with the men's relay in Ruhpolding on Thursday.
"Sivert lives on in our hearts"
The white coffin of Bakken, who was found dead in his hotel room in Lavazé by his friend Botn on December 23, was adorned with numerous wreaths and two pictures of him. "Sivert will live on in our hearts," said Laegreid.
It was important for the team to say goodbye to Bakken. "I think the worst thing is to be alone with your grief," said Christiansen. Having people around you who know exactly how you feel without many words "gives you an incredible amount of strength. And if possible, it will make our community even stronger than it already was," says Christiansen.
Memorial service in a chapel in Ruhpolding
The Norwegian women were not in Lillehammer because they are opening the World Cup in the Chiemgau Arena with the relay on Wednesday. Parallel to the funeral in Lillehammer, a small memorial service was held in a chapel in Ruhpolding.
The cause of death is still unclear. The autopsy results should be available by March 7 at the latest.
