Tearful Olympian confesses to cheating on GF, begs forgiveness after bronze finish

ANTERSELVA, Italy — Norway's Sturla Holm Laegreid followed up his bronze medal in the biathlon at the Winter Olympics on Tuesday with a stunning confession that he had cheated on his girlfriend, before openly begging her for another chance.

"I realized that this is the woman in my life, and I can't live my whole life keeping it a secret from her. My only way to solve it is to tell everything and put everything on the table, and hope that she can still love me," Laegreid told Norwegian newspaper VG.

"I've done that for her, and now for the whole world. I have nothing to lose."

The biathlete made his revelation to the Norwegian state broadcaster after taking the bronze in a race won by his compatriot Johan-Olav Botn, with Eric Perrot of France coming in second.

"There's someone I wanted to share it with who might not be watching today. Six months ago I met the love of my life—the most beautiful and kindest person in the world," he said.

"Three months ago I made my biggest mistake and cheated on her," he added tearfully. "I told her about it a week ago. It's been the worst week of my life."

Without naming the woman, 28-year-old Laegreid compared her to the Games' most prestigious prize.

"I had a gold medal in my life, and there are probably many who look at me with different eyes, but I only have eyes for her," he said. "Sport has taken a slightly different place [in my life] the last few days. Yes, I wish I could share it with her."

Emotional occasion

Later, Laegreid explained that he had been feeling very emotional after the race, which came in the wake of the death of teammate Sivert Guttorm Bakken in December.

"Of course, now I hope I didn't ruin Johan's day," he said of the gold medal winner.

"Maybe it was really selfish of me to give that interview. So yeah, I don't know. I was, I'm a bit, I don't know ... I'm not really here mentally. So yeah, we will see what happens," he told reporters about an hour after the interview.

Speaking to VG later on—after his confession became one of the day's big talking points at the Olympics—Laegreid doubled down, begging his girlfriend again for a second chance.

"I told her a week ago, and then it ended, of course. I'm not ready to give up... I'm taking the consequences for what I've done, I regret it with all my heart," he said.

"I want to be a good role model, but I have to admit when I make mistakes. You have to admit when you do something you can't stand behind, and when you hurt someone you love so much." — Reuters