Norwegian biathlon bronze medalist confesses to cheating on girlfriend in post-race interview

Sometimes the weight of Olympic victory is just too much, and I actually mean that literally. At these Olympics, the medals are falling apart. Breezy Johnson made winning gold look easy breezy on the downhill course, winning Team USA's first medal of the games, but she surprised reporters at *** post-wnd news conference, holding up her medal minus the ribbon, joking that the weight of the medal comes with *** warning Do not jump when you're celebrating. Show don't tell moment. So there's the medal. And there's the ribbon. And here's the little piece that is supposed to go in the ribbon to hold it in the metal, and Yeah, it came apart. The Italian mint made 700 gold, silver, and bronze medals for the Olympics. They're made out of recycled metal and with renewable energy. Gold medals weigh about 1.1 pounds and they include about 6 g of actual gold. Given the price of gold, you'll hear *** lot of people talking about. The value of the medal, but around here *** lot of people are pretty focused on the ribbons. Figure skater Alyssa Lu posted on social that her team gold medal also snapped off. As Olympic problems go, I'm pretty sure that most athletes would be more than willing to deal with this at the Milan Cortina Olympics. I'm Deirdre Fitzpatrick.

Updated: 2:41 PM EST Feb 10, 2026

Editorial Standards ⓘ

Updated: 2:41 PM EST Feb 10, 2026

Editorial Standards ⓘ

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.Video above: Olympic medals fall apart at Milan Cortina Games 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 the 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.”

Video above: Olympic medals fall apart at Milan Cortina Games

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 the 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.”

Make WLKY a preferred source on Google

Norwegian biathlon bronze medalist confesses to cheating on girlfriend in post-race interview

Weather Information

Share

Top Picks