Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Lægreid secured a bronze medal in the men’s 20km event in an atmosphere of intense personal turmoil, breaking down in tears afterwards to publicly apologise for an affair.
Speaking to Norwegian broadcaster NRK, Lægreid described the past week as “the worst week of my life,” revealing he had cheated on his partner three months ago and only told her a week prior to the race. “I had the gold medal in life,” he stated, adding that sport had come second in recent days.
The 27-year-old, who won relay gold at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and has 14 world championship medals, said he used motivational support from his home club to get through the race. He told NRK he wanted to be a good role model and had to admit when he did something wrong that hurt someone he loved.
After the medals ceremony, Lægreid expressed hope for reconciliation, saying: “I hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel for us both. And that she can continue to love me.” He also voiced concern that his emotional interview may have overshadowed the day for gold medallist Johan-Olav Botn, calling his own actions “selfish.”
Botn’s victory was itself highly emotional, as he dedicated his win to late teammate Sivert Guttorm Bakken, who was found dead in December. Botn pointed to the sky on crossing the line and shouted “We did it Sivert!” to cameras, later telling NRK he felt Bakken was with him on the final lap.
France’s Éric Perrot took the silver medal in the competition, as stated by The Guardian.
