Biathlon: Juni Arnekleiv will race to honor the late Sivert Guttorm Bakken

National team biathlete Juni Arnekleiv says she will compete on Sunday to honor and remember Sivert Guttorm Bakken, who died on Christmas Eve while at an altitude training camp in Lavazè, Italy.

“It’s been a very different and sad Christmas after we got the message that Sivert was found dead in his room in Lavazè,” Arnekleiv wrote in a message to NRK, adding that the shock is still difficult to comprehend. Arnekleiv and Bakken were a couple and lived together until 2024.

Bakken was found with an altitude mask. The cause of death is not yet known, and it is unclear whether the death is related to the mask.

Arnekleiv will be the first Norwegian biathlon national team member to speak publicly since Bakken’s passing. She says she will take things day by day, uncertain how her emotions and body will react—in training, in competitions, and upon returning to daily life in Lillehammer.

On Sunday, the biathlon elite returns to action for the first time since the tragedy at the traditional exhibition race in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, inside Schalke 04’s football stadium. Arnekleiv will race alongside Mats Øverby for Norway. They considered skipping the event but decided that Bakken, who never gave up and always fought to race well, would have wanted them to start.

Norwegian head coach Per‑Arne Botnan has been in contact with Arnekleiv and Øverby to ensure they are comfortable competing and prepared for potential media attention. The Norwegian Biathlon Federation is sending two additional staff members to support them and has asked organizers to be considerate in media handling.

Race director Herbert Fritzenwenger confirmed there will be a one‑minute silence in Bakken’s memory during Sunday’s event. The Schalke biathlon show race has been held annually since 2002, drawing around 50,000 spectators and millions of TV viewers.

Bakken died at age 27. The Biathlon World Cup will resume in Oberhof, Germany, starting 8 January. Bakken will be autopsied in Italy during the holiday period; local Carabinieri police declined to comment further at this time.