Overview
- The 27-year-old Norwegian biathlete was found dead on December 23 at a high-altitude camp in Lavazè, Italy, where police seized equipment from his hotel room and an autopsy was conducted.
- NRK reported that the family’s lawyer now expects the official forensic report to take several months, with a deadline cited as March 7, and Bakken’s remains have been returned to Norway.
- VG reported he was found wearing an altitude-simulation mask allegedly set to around 7000 meters, though investigators have not determined whether the device or its setting played any role.
- Italian authorities are examining scenarios including a possible malfunction or an inadvertent change of the device’s setting by first responders, according to reporting relaying police lines of inquiry.
- Olympiatoppen has advised Norwegian athletes to suspend simulated-altitude use for now, as teammates and peers pay tribute and urge restraint against speculation about the cause.