The 2026 Winter Olympics kicked off in Milan on February 6th, and it seems that a new sport was added to the schedule: grovelling. After taking the bronze medal at the men’s 20 km biathlon, Norwegian athlete Sturla Holm Laegreid used his post-podium interview to reveal that he cheated on his former partner.
Speaking to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK, Laegreid said: “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. 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.
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“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 continued.
“I’m not ready to give up. I hope that committing social suicide [like this] might show her how much I love her. I accept the consequences of what I’ve done. I regret it with all my heart. Maybe I’m dumb as a rock. I’m a member of Mensa, but I still do stupid stuff.”
At first, this scene might seem like something straight out of a rom-com; a man ready to risk it all to win back the woman he loves. But really, it’s manipulative, selfish and incredibly unfair. It puts his ex on a global stage that she never asked to set foot on, without her permission, and adds pressure to an already heartbreaking situation. At the same time, the admission has seen Laegreid dominate headlines over his teammate Johan-Olav Botn’s Winter Olympics gold medal victory, something he has since apologised for.
So what did Laegreid hope to achieve with this so-called apology, which actually didn’t feature the words “I’m sorry” at all? Instead, he spoke about how bad he’d felt over the past week, how he was ready to commit social suicide (a questionable phrase in itself) and how he wasn’t ready to give up, all because of the consequences of his own actions. This spontaneous public confession wasn’t focused on his partner or her feelings. In fact, online speculation was so rife that she released the following anonymous statement through Norwegian outlet VG:
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