Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid delivered one of the most emotional moments of the Winter Olympics after pairing a bronze medal finish with a raw, public confession that quickly overshadowed the race itself.
Minutes after stepping off the course, Laegreid admitted he had cheated on his girlfriend and pleaded for another chance, choosing honesty on one of sport’s biggest stages, Reuters reports. Speaking to Norway’s state broadcaster NRK, the 28 year old explained that keeping the truth hidden no longer felt possible.
“I realized this is the woman in my life,” Laegreid said, according to VG. He added that confessing publicly felt like the only way forward, even if it meant risking everything. Laegreid revealed that he told his girlfriend about the infidelity a week earlier and described the days since as the hardest of his life.
The bronze medal came in a race won by fellow Norwegian Johan-Olav Botn, with France’s Eric Perrot finishing second. Yet Laegreid’s focus drifted far from the podium as he compared his girlfriend to a gold medal, saying sport had taken a different place in his life over the past few days.
NEW: Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid admits to cheating on his girlfriend after winning a bronze medal at the Winter Olympics.
Sturla Holm Laegreid broke down in tears as he talked about the “worst week” of his life.
“I had a gold medal in my life, and there are… pic.twitter.com/VDB1pNlRue
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 10, 2026
Emotional Interview Sparks Debate at Olympics
Later, Laegreid acknowledged that emotions had taken over following the race, which arrived just weeks after the death of teammate Sivert Guttorm Bakken. He worried that his confession may have pulled attention away from Botn’s victory and admitted he felt mentally overwhelmed.
The interview quickly became one of the day’s biggest Olympic talking points. NRK analyst Johannes Thingnes Boe, a four time Olympic gold medalist, expressed shock at the timing. Boe said the remorse felt genuine but questioned whether the moment and setting were right.
Despite the backlash, Laegreid stood firm. Speaking again to VG, he reiterated his regret and renewed his plea for reconciliation, saying accountability mattered more than image. The confession turned a routine medal moment into a deeply personal storyline, reminding fans that even at the Olympics, human emotion can outweigh the results sheet.
