The mask set to simulate an altitude of 7,000 meters. According to the Norwegian newspaper VG anticipates an indiscretion relating to the death of Sivert Bakken: the cause of the death of the Norwegian biathlete (found lifeless on 23 December in a hotel room at 1,800 meters in the Lavazè pass in Trentino) remains unknown, the results of the autopsy will only be known in the next few days.
But if the indiscretion published by VG is confirmed, it means that Bakken, 27 years old, in preparation for the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games, he breathed air containing very little oxygen. Altitude training is generally done to increase red blood cell production, as the body is subjected to low oxygen levels. A greater number of red blood cells, in turn, ensures better resistance.
Pericarditis
Bakken had suffered from pericarditis in 2022 and his sporting eligibility was blocked for two years and it will be necessary to understand if this had an impact. The hypoxic mask he used was not “those supplied by the national team”, specifies the Norwegian Olympic Committee.
The lawyer
The tabloid VG forwarded the information about the mask set at 7,000 meters to legal consultant Bernt Heiberg of the law firm Elden Advokatfirma AS who is handling the matter. “It is too early to comment on the matter, the Italian police have regularly seized objects and equipment present in the room and will investigate the matter further – replied the lawyer -. As soon as we have access to the police documents and the preliminary forensic examination report, we will comment on the matter, given that it is an element that the police investigation has managed to map”. There is also the hypothesis that the adjustment of the mask may have been changed in the excited moments of the rescue when he was found unconscious.
