Olympic Bronze, Then a Shocking Confession: Norway’s Sturla Holm Lægreid Admits Infidelity in Live Milan-Cortina 2026 Interview

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28-year-old Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Lægreid finished third in the men’s 20km individual biathlon at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Tuesday, 10 February 2026. However, the highlight was not the race or the medal but the bronze medalist’s personal confession of being unfaithful to his partner during a live television interview.

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The Olympian was speaking to Norway’s public broadcaster NRK after his bronze win when he confessed to the cheating. He said, “There is someone I wanted to share this with who might not be watching today.” He then explained how he met the love of his life six months ago but made the biggest mistake three months ago by cheating on her. He further described the past days as the “worst week of my life.” He said that his emotional turmoil overshadowed the competition for him. He added, “I had the gold medal in life. Sport has come second these last few days. Yes, I wish I could share this with her.”

While the bronze medal was clinched by Lægreid, Johan-Olav Botn of Norway and Éric Perrot of France took home the gold and silver medals respectively in the event. As Botn finished first, he dedicated his victory to his teammate Sivert Guttorm Bakken, who died in December, by pointing to the sky and shouting “We did it, Sivert!” as he crossed the finish line.

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The interview saw Lægreid becoming visibly emotional; as he continued with the interview, he broke down in tears as he said that he wanted to acknowledge his actions publicly rather than conceal them. He said, “I try to be a good role model, but I did something stupid.” He further said that one has to step forward to admit when they hurt their loved ones.

He continued, “My only path forward was to put everything on the table and hope she can still love me.” The Olympian, however, declined to name his former partner, saying that she already “had enough to deal with.” He further clarified that he did not mean to divert attention from the sport and the gold medallist to himself as he added, “I hope this is just a day-or-two thing. You are an Olympic gold medallist forever.” He accepted that he was not sure if it was the right choice, stating, “But it was the choice I made.”

He had earlier earned a gold medal in the relay at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, making this his second Olympic podium. However, he is not a new face, as he holds multiple world championship medals in biathlon competition.

(SY)

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