A Winter Olympian’s bronze-medal-winning moment took an extraordinary turn as he tearfully confessed to cheating on his girlfriend during a live TV interview, a mistake he said was the biggest of his life.
Norway’s Sturla Holm Laegreid, the 28-year-old World Cup winner and known as one of the best biathletes in the world, took bronze in the individual 20km race for his first Olympic medal.
But Laegreid, during a live interview with state broadcaster NRK, followed up his success by opening up on his torment, acknowledging he was committing “social suicide” in an attempt to win her back.
“There’s someone I wanted to share it with who might not be watching today,” he told NRK, unprompted.
“Six months ago I met the love of my life – the most beautiful and kindest person in the world.
“Three months ago I made my biggest mistake and cheated on her. I told her about it a week ago. It’s been the worst week of my life.
“I had a gold medal in my life, and there are probably many who look at me with different eyes, but I only have eyes for her.
“I don’t quite know what I want to achieve by saying it here now, but sport has taken second place in recent days. I wish I could share it with her.”
Laegreid then told Norwegian outlet VG that he was not ready to “give up” on his relationship following his infidelity.
“I hope that committing social suicide might show how much I love her,” he said.
“I’m taking the consequences for what I’ve done. I regret it with all my heart.”
Laegreid came third behind compatriot Johan-Olav Botn and Eric Perrot of France to claim the bronze.
The 26-year-old Botn pointed to the sky as he crossed the line in memory of teammate Sivert Guttorm Bakken, who was found dead by Botn in his hotel room on a training camp shortly before Christmas.
Botn had led the overall World Cup standings before the Christmas break but missed the next races on the circuit to attend Bakken’s funeral, while illness has prevented him from reaching his early-season form since then.
But he was back at his imperious best in Antholz-Anterselva on Tuesday, shooting all 20 targets without a miss, and stormed through the final lap before dedicating the win to his friend and teammate.
He said: “At the last shooting, my thoughts and feelings went toward my good friend Sivert Bakken who tragically died this Christmas. It was quite an emotional last loop for me. I felt like I was racing with him. I hope he was watching and hope he was proud of what I was doing.”
