Norwegian biathlete wins Olympic bronze, confesses about affair & breaks down in tears

Norwegian biathlete emotionally confesses about affair after winning Olympic bronze, gets criticised by netizens

After Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid won an Olympic bronze medal, he shockingly confessed to an affair in a live interview.

Breaking down in tears, Laegreid expressed his regret for cheating on his former girlfriend three months into their relationship.

Biathlete calls affair his ‘biggest mistake’

Laegreid took part in the men’s 20km biathlon on 10 Feb, a winter sport involving the combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.

The 28-year-old won bronze in what was his first individual Olympic medal.

During a live interview with Norwegian broadcaster NRK after the race, a journalist extended her congratulations and asked Laegreid how he felt clinching the bronze.

Laegreid started off by thanking his family and all those who helped him, before getting visibly emotional.

He then said he had something to share with someone who may not be watching his interview.

“Six months ago, I met the love of my life — the most beautiful and wonderful person in the world,” Laegreid said, beginning to cry.

“Three months ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life and cheated on her.”

The biathlete said he confessed about the affair to his girlfriend a week ago, and called it the “worst week of my life” as he struggled to get the words out.

“I had the gold medal in life,” Laegreid said about his love, adding that he only had eyes for her.

Emotional confession was attempt to get girlfriend back

In a press conference later that day, a journalist asked him on whether he felt the confession was the right choice.

A calmer Laegreid admitted that he did not know if it was, but accepted that he had done so.

“Today, I made the choice to tell the world what I did, so maybe there’s a chance she will watch and miss me. Maybe not, but I don’t want to think that I didn’t try everything to get her back,” he said.

His interview sparked a multitude of reactions on the Internet, mostly negative.

One commenter on Reddit felt that his ex-girlfriend would likely not be thrilled about the affair being broadcast to the entire world.

Another netizen criticised how he couldn’t even stay faithful to the love of his life for more than three months.

One user on X even joked that he shouldn’t be pleading to get his ex-girlfriend back with ‘just’ a bronze medal.

Norwegian biathlete criticised for stealing gold medal winner’s thunder

On Instagram, a commenter accused Laegreid of stealing the moment from fellow Norwegian Johan-Olav Botn, who won the gold medal in the same race.

As he passed the finish line, Botn shouted the name of their teammate, Sivert Bakken, who had tragically passed away on 23 Dec 2025, at the age of 27.

At the press conference, Laegreid told Botn that he did not want to steal the show and hoped the buzz around his confession would blow over in a day or two.

Also read: 8 controversies that rocked Paris Olympics 2024, from participation of convicted child rapist to Imane Khelif gender row

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Featured image adapted from NRK via Reddit and @biathlonworld on Instagram.