Tearful Olympic biathlon medalist admits to cheating on girlfriend in TV interview

By MARTHA BELLISLE

ANTERSELVA, Italy (AP) — A post-race interview with the bronze medal winner in the men’s Olympic biathlon competition on Tuesday took an unexpected turn when he revealed in a live broadcast that he had been unfaithful to his girlfriend.

Sturla Holm Laegreid, one of Norway’s top biathletes, finished third in the 20-kilometer individual race, but was full of remorse when he spoke to Norwegian broadcaster NRK at the Milan Cortina Games.

“Six months ago I met the love of my life. The world’s most beautiful, sweetest person. And three months ago I made the biggest mistake of my life and cheated on her,” Laegreid said, fighting back tears.

He said he told his partner a week ago about what had happened.

“I’m sure many people now see me in a different light, but I only have eyes for her,” he said. “I’m not quite sure what I’m trying to say by saying this now, but sport has taken a back seat in recent days. I wish I could share this with her.”

Laegreid’s teammate Johan-Olav Botn shot perfectly in his Olympic debut to secure the gold medal while Eric Perrot of France, the overall World Cup leader, missed one shot and finished 14.8 seconds behind Botn to take silver. Laegreid also missed one target and was 48.3 seconds behind, taking the bronze.

It was Laegreid’s first individual Olympic medal. He was part of the relay team that took gold at the Beijing Olympics.

But instead of celebrating, he was distraught, crying and hugging friends, after the race. During a news conference he explained why he decided to tell the world about his personal situation on the TV broadcast.

“It was the choice I made. We make different choices during our life and that’s how we make life,” he told a room full of journalists. “So today I made a choice to tell the world what I did, so maybe, maybe there is a chance she will see what she really means to me. Maybe not.”

He said he felt bad about upstaging his teammate with his deeply personal news.

“Now I hope I didn’t ruin Johan’s day,” he said. “Maybe it was really selfish of me to give that interview. I’m not really here, mentally.”