Biathlon: Sivert Guttorm Bakken returns to competition (at last)
The last time Norwegian Sivert Guttorm Bakken performed on the biathlon World Cup was on 20 March 2022. That day, as the revelation of the season, he won the mass-start in Oslo-Holmenkollen (Norway), taking the small globe for the speciality. That Sunday, too, Quentin Fillon-Maillet lifted the crystal globe at the end of a historic winter.
Since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. Affected by pericarditis after receiving a vaccine against Covid-19, the Lillehammer (Norway) native hasn’t put on his race number since that magnificent victory on home soil.
This week, however, Sivert Guttorm Bakken is well and truly back. At the age of 26, after more than two years in purgatory, the Scandinavian will indeed be taking part in the Norwegian opening races in Sjusjøen (Norway) on Saturday and Sunday.
“I admit I’m nervous and I think about it a lot, he told Langrenn.com. I know I won’t be in the top 10, but the thing that excites me the most is taking part in a race, pushing hard and continuously for 30 minutes and being on the shooting range with the tension of the race.”
He’s aiming for the 2030 Olympics
Even if he were to make a stunning comeback this weekend and be the best of the Norwegians not yet qualified for the World Cup, he will not be able to claim the last ticket at stake. As he didn’t take part in any international events last winter, he doesn’t meet all the criteria laid down by theNorwegian Biathlon Association. However, he can claim a place in the IBU Cup.
But that’s not the whole story for Sivert Guttorm Bakken, who is looking further ahead. “I’m looking ahead five years, to the 2030 Olympics, he says. It’s very likely that I still won’t be good enough to take part in the 2026 Olympics.”
Finally, the beacon of light on the horizon of the 2029 World Championships in Oslo-Holmenkollen, the site of his greatest sporting success, is keeping the Norwegian on course. “This award gives me even more motivation,” he concludes.
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