The Olympic medalist who broke down in tears and confessed to cheating on his girlfriend on live TV has been warned by one of his biggest rivals that honesty is not always the best policy.
Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid, who took home bronze in the Men’s 20km Individual race last week, went viral when he admitted to being unfaithful to the ‘love of his life’ after making it onto the podium in Italy.
Speaking to Norwegian broadcaster NRK, Laegreid confessed: ‘There’s someone I wanted to share this with who might not be watching today.
‘Six months ago, I met the love of my life and the most beautiful and kindest person in the world. And three months ago I made my biggest mistake and cheated on her,’ the 28-year-old lamented.
Laegreid’s comments sparked a frenzy on social media, with Winter Olympics fans left stunned by the athlete’s emotional admission live on air.
And following Sunday’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit biathlon race, in which he secured a silver medal, the Norway star has received love life advice from the man he beat to second place.
The Olympic medalist who confessed to cheating on his girlfriend has been warned that honesty is not always the best policy
French biathlete Emilien Jacquelin (pictured) weighed in on Sturla Holm Laegreid’s comments
Norway’s Laegreid (left) beat Jacquelin (right) to silver in Sunday’s 12.5km pursuit race
Emilien Jacquelin of France, who also finished fourth in last week’s 20km Individual race, joked that he was ‘beaten by an unfaithful guy’ and vowed to strike back during the pursuit race.
When asked about it on Sunday, Jacquelin said that he always says what he thinks, but that may not always be wise in a warning to Laegreid.
He said after he saw Laegreid’s interview, he felt sad for him ‘because honesty sometimes is not the best thing in our society.’
‘Sometimes we should say nothing,’ the Frenchman continued. ‘In a way you can think what you want. Is it good or not. It’s on your mind what you think. But having honesty and say what you say, what I say after the sprint, it´s part of a duel.’
He said they have since discussed it and ‘everything is fine.’
Laegreid said he took Jacquelin’s comment ‘with a sense of humor.’
‘Of course we talked about it later when I met him at the hotel and there was no hard feelings but even though we had squared up I think he used it a bit for energy today,’ he said. ‘For him to be in the mode he was today, if this was what he needed and then attacking like he doing it is for me really impressive.
‘And I told him after the race, the way he attacked today, the way he was giving a show was really honorable to watch.’
