A Norwegian biathlete’s Olympic medal win compelled him to confess to cheating in an attempt to reunite with his ex-girlfriend.
After taking home the bronze medal in the men’s 20 km. biathlon at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Tuesday, Sturla Holm Lægreid’s surprisingly emotional interview became an instant part of Olympic history.
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Lægreid, 28, told Norwegian Broadcasting Corp. (NRK) that the person with whom he wanted to share his win “might not be watching today,” because three months prior, he had cheated on “the love of [his] life, the most beautiful and kindest person.”
The athlete didn’t name his ex, but said that they had first met six months ago and that she had called things off with him after he told her about the affair.
“I told her a week ago. And it’s been the worst week of my life,” he confessed. “I had a gold medal in life, and there’s probably a lot of people out there who look at me differently now, but I only have eyes for her. Sports has taken a bit of a back seat these past couple of days. Yeah, I wish I could share this with her.”
“I’m not ready to give up. I hope that committing social suicide [like this] might show her how much I love her,” Lægreid added. “I accept the consequences of what I’ve done. I regret it with all my heart. Maybe I’m dumb as a rock. I’m a member of Mensa, but I still do stupid stuff.”
The Olympian continued that he’s “realized that this is the woman of my life, and I can’t live my whole life keeping that from her.”
“My only path to the finish line is to tell her everything and put it all on the table, and hope that she’ll still love me. I’ve done that for her, and now for the entire world. I’ve nothing to lose,” he noted, adding later, “I want to be a good role model, but I have to own up to my mistakes. You have to recognize when you’ve done something you can’t defend and hurt someone you love so deeply.”
Following the confession, Lægreid said in a press conference that he didn’t know if it was “the right choice” to share his personal business so publicly, “but it was the choice I made,” as per NBC News.
“So today I made the choice to tell the world what I did, so maybe there is a chance that she will see what she really means to me,” he said. “And maybe not. But I don’t want to think I didn’t try everything to get her back.”
Lægreid is a six-time Biathlon World Champion and won the gold medal in the relay at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
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