The mask that illuminated the altitude simulation

The tragic death on December 23 last year affected the biathlon world before and during the ongoing Olympic Games in Italy.

– Sivert, we did it! Norwegian Johan-Olav Botn shouted directly into the camera after his Olympic gold last week.

It was Botn who found his teammate Sivert Guttorm Bakken dead in a hotel room in Italy the day before Christmas Eve. Bakken wore what is known as an altitude mask. Botn had ordered the same equipment, he told VG:

– It’s simply the cheapest you can find.

It is important to point this out that the cause of Sivert Guttorm Bakken’s death is not clear.

But the incident has sparked debate about what is known in the sports world as altitude simulation or artificial altitude training.

It’s not a new phenomenon.

It is widespread in cycling, for example, says Botn to VG. In Sweden, runner David Nilsson told SVT how he slept in a so-called altitude tent, where a unit makes the air as oxygen-depleted as at a naturally high altitude. And in 2024, Swedish swimmer Victor Johansson described his four-week artificial altitude training in Finland in an altitude room in a DN interview.

The path of the body Oxygen-deficient air is compensated for by increased production of red blood cells. This in turn leads to more oxygen being transported to the muscles, which can improve performance and endurance.

Both the Norwegian and Swedish national biathlon teams now have the means to spend a lot of time at naturally high altitude and have already done so at 1,600 meters before the Olympic Games in Antholz.

But altitude simulation offers the same potential benefits in a home environment. And can be a cheaper and more practical option.

“I’ve seen how good old-fashioned altitude training works – but I also know how much it costs,” Botn told VG in January.

– I spent a few hundred thousand (Norwegian krone) to be at the top outside of national team meetings.

Is altitude simulation more common in national teams that don’t have as many resources?

– I don’t understand it well. But it’s cheaper than being at high altitude, Swedish star Sebastian Samuelsson tells DN.

Anna Maria Uusitalo, sports director of the Swedish national biathlon team, adds:

– It is very unfortunate when the economy is affected. Because you have to be sure about what you are doing and why you are doing it. Safety must come first. There can be advantages (with the methods), but you have to do it right.

The national team has some masks never used, but before the 2022 Beijing Olympics, the Swedes used an altitude chamber in Östersund more often than this season because the pandemic made travel to natural altitudes impossible.

Now we first have to clarify what happened to Bakken, says Anna Maria Uusitalo.

– But the sport is constantly evolving. Elite sport is extreme. You do extreme things. But the most important thing is that the health of those active comes first. It is important that there is research and evidence behind what you do.

Sebastian Samuelsson says that at the beginning of his career he thought altitude simulation was controversial, but has now changed his mind.

Why did you think that before?

– It was probably a bit that you had no idea. You had images in your head of the tent you had to sleep in and it somehow felt so artificial.

– But now I think it’s such advanced stuff that it’s not even a tent, you’re just tinkering a bit with the ventilation in the bedroom. And then there are so many people using it that it feels like it became a natural step in the evolution of the sport.

Read more:

He found his teammate dead – had bought the same altitude mask

The Olympic mission 1,600 meters above sea level: be patient – ​​and breathe deeply