- Do you know his girlfriend? Email sabrina.penty@dailymail.co.uk
An Olympic medalist broke down in tears on live television today as he confessed to cheating on the ‘love of his life’.
Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Lægreid took home the bronze medal on Tuesday in the Men’s 20km Individual race in the Winter Olympics in Italy.
But despite his triumph, the sportsman was overcome by emotion after he admitted to being unfaithful to his girlfriend of six months while being interviewed after his big win.
Speaking to Norwegian broadcaster NRK, Lægreid 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.
The Olympian explained that he had told his girlfriend about his infidelity a week ago.
Lægreid went on to say that it had been ‘the worst week of my life,’ before tearfully declaring: ‘I had a gold medal in my life…I only have eyes for her. I don’t know what I want to achieve by saying this…I wish I could share it with her.’
The Olympian went on to say that he wanted to be a ‘good role model’, but that ‘I have to admit when I make mistakes.
‘You have to admit when you do something you can’t stand for, and hurt someone you love so much.’
Lægreid could be seen crying on camera as he made his shocking confession.
After calming down, the biathlete continued, telling the NRK broadcaster he was willing to drop a metaphorical ‘nuclear bomb’ during the interview to try and win his girlfriend back.
‘Because I am already hated by her, and I hope that maybe it can make her realise how much I love her,’ he added.
When asked about the identity of his girlfriend, the sportsman refused to reveal her name out of respect.
‘She’s probably still processing last week’s message, but I hope there’s light at the end of the tunnel for both of us. And that she can still love me,’ he declared.
Lægreid revealed that he decided to go public about his infidelity the night before his big race, telling the television channel: ‘Last night I had a kind of revelation that I should drop this bomb… Then we’ll see what happens. I have nothing to lose.’
Lægreid’s teammate, Johannes Dale-Skjevdal, later revealed to the broadcaster that the bronze medalist had told him about his infidelity, saying: ‘We have known that, yes. I don’t have many comments about it now. It’s good that he is open about it, and if he wants to talk about things, that’s fine.’
Another teammate, Martin Uldal, said he was not aware of Lægreid’s situation.
‘I’ve noticed a little bit about him, that he’s been a little different, but I haven’t really known why. I’ve thought it might just be a bit of nerves. It’s very sad to hear. Really tough, tough situation,’ he said.
In an interview last year, he said he had refused to hug his girlfriend for two months while preparing for the World Championships. It is not clear if this was the same girlfriend.
Speaking to Norwegian news outlet Madshus, he said at the time: ‘I haven’t hugged my girlfriend since the Lavaze training camp before the World Championships. I didn’t dare hug her, and the last week, she hasn’t been allowed to stay in the apartment.’
He also described himself as an ‘old-school psycho,’ explaining that he was doing everything he could to ‘avoid people and getting sick’.
‘I’ve been living alone, making my own food, not going to the grocery store since I came home,’ Lægreid added.
Viewers were quick to react to the sportman’s TV interview on Tuesday, with one X user commenting: ‘Here, the heartbreak runs so deep that he desperately tries to win back his love in true Hollywood style. I salute the man!’
Others mocked the athlete’s dramatic interview, with one social media user writing: ‘Dumbest thing I’ve ever seen…You never win back ladies this way. Only on film, never in real life.’
The admission comes after he won his first-ever Olympic bronze in a nerve-jangling men’s 20km individual biathlon race at the Antholz-Anterselva Biathlon Arena on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, compatriot Johan-Olav Botn stormed through the final lap to win an emotionally charged Olympic gold medal, while Eric Perrot of France came in second, 14.8 seconds behind the winner, to secure the silver medal.
Botn’s victory was a long-awaited moment of redemption for a Norwegian team still reeling from the December death of teammate Sivert Guttorm Bakken, and which missed out on the podium in Sunday’s mixed relay.
Botn kept his cool on the range, hitting all 20 of his shots on his four stops there before a controlled burst of power for the last lap saw him eclipse Perrot, who was left to rue his single costly miss.
‘Yes Sivert, we did it!’ Botn exclaimed after he crossed the line, in honour of Bakken.
Starting at 30-second intervals with the top-ranked racers bunched in the middle of the pack, the competitors skied five four-kilometre laps, stopping four times at the range and alternating between shooting from the prone and standing positions.
The victor is decided by the lowest overall time, but each miss on the range adds a hefty one-minute penalty, often leading to sharp drops in the standings for the errant shooter.
After winning gold in the mixed relay, Perrot’s challenge came undone with a miss in the first standing shoot, and though his skiing was electric, he faded badly on the final lap, opening the door for Botn to blaze past him in the standings.
Laegreid made the most of a good day on the range, hitting 19 of 20 shots to sweep into the bronze medal position ahead of Finland’s vastly experienced Olli Hiidensalo, 48.3 seconds behind the winner Botn.
Lægreid had a tough season during the World Cup and was dropped from the mixed relay in the Olympics.
Just a day before securing bronze at the Winter Olympics, he admitted that he did not have high expectations for himself.
Speaking to NRK on Monday, he said: ‘I won’t hide the fact that I don’t have high expectations for myself.
‘But I also understand that I’m kind of an underdog now after the way the season has been. I wouldn’t have imagined being in a position like this, but maybe this is the chance I have at the Olympics to win a medal.’
