The ex-girlfriend of Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid has said his actions are “hard to forgive” after he admitted to cheating on her in a live television interview after winning a bronze medal.
Laegreid finished in third place in the biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, and then broke down in tears at the Winter Olympics on Tuesday, telling Norwegian state broadcaster NRK how he lost the “love of my life” due to his cheating after meeting her six months ago.
“Three months ago, I made my biggest mistake and cheated on her. I told her about it a week ago. It’s been the worst week of my life,” the 28-year-old medallist said, adding how he wishes to share his sporting triumph with her.
Now his ex-girlfriend, who wants to remain anonymous, told Norwegian outlet VG that she “did not choose to be put in this position, and it hurts to have to be in it”.
She added that Laegreid’s infidelity was “hard to forgive, even after a declaration of love in front of the whole world”.
The woman said she had been in contact with Laegreid and that he knew her stance on this.
After his tearful confession on live television, Laegreid said that he might not have been in the right state of mind to give the interview after the race, which came in the wake of the death of his teammate, Sivert Guttorm Bakken, in December last year.
“Maybe it was really selfish of me to give that interview,” he said a few hours later.
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On Wednesday, the Norwegian biathlete apologised to his ex-girlfriend and to his countryman Johan-Olav Botn, who took the gold in the men’s Olympic 20km individual biathlon race but whose achievement was overshadowed by Laegreid’s cheating confession.
“I deeply regret bringing up this personal story on what was a festive day for Norwegian biathlon,” Laegreid told NRK.
“I am not quite myself these days, and I am not thinking clearly. My apologies go to Johan-Olav, who deserved all the attention after winning gold.
“My apologies also go to my ex-girlfriend, who involuntarily ended up in the media spotlight. I hope she is doing well. I can’t change this, but I will now put this behind me and focus on the Olympics.”
