Sturla Holm Laegreid, Swedish athlete, won five medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. The 29-year-old skier broke down in tears after winning bronze in the men’s 20km biathlon, admitting to cheating on his girlfriend of six months in an interview with NRK. He declared that “Half a year ago I met the love of my life. The world’s most beautiful and nicest person. Three months ago, I made the mistake of my life and cheated on her.”
Laegreid had cheated on his girlfriend 3 months into their six month relationship, and confessed his infidelity to her a week before arriving in Milan. In the same interview, Laegreid said he regarded this past week leading up to and during the Olympics as “the worst week of [his] life,” which was almost as shocking as his declaration of love to the thousands of athletes who dream of going to the Olympics.
His ex-girlfriend wishes to stay anonymous to avoid the media attention surrounding them. She was not impressed by his declaration, and later said in an interview that “It’s hard to forgive (him). Even after a declaration of love in front of the whole world, I didn’t choose to be put in this position, and it’s painful to have to endure it. We’ve been in contact, and he’s aware of my feelings about this.” She is not ready to forgive him for his actions, and for not telling her for three months after the fact, and isn’t going to be swayed by media pressure. If anything, Laegreid has worsened the turmoil in his personal life by going public.
Laegreids felt that, having won an Olympic medal, he was therefore a role model and obligated to admit when he was wrong. While being an Olympic medalist makes an athlete a role model to aspiring medalists, Laegreid has faced more criticism than just that of his ex-girlfriend. He’s facing backlash for stealing the spotlight from his teammate Botn, who won gold and honored their former Norwegian teammate Sivert Guttorm Bakker, who tragically died this past December while in Milan.
He faced something from both critics and his own team. His former teammate Boe said, “It came as a complete surprise. His action was wrong – we saw a repentant lad standing there. Unfortunately, the time, place and timing are all wrong.” Laegreid’s apology has shifted focus from both the gold medalist and the honor of his former teammate.
Laegreid later stated in an interview, “I don’t know if it was the right choice or not, but it was the choice I made,” in response to the media. The Norwegian press team also released a statement from Lagereid on Wednesday, stating that “I deeply regret sharing this personal story on what was a day of celebration for Norwegian biathlon.” He has tried to correct yet another regrettable action following the backlash he received, and is trying to shift focus back to his team.
Ultimately, Laegreid made many mistakes, starting three months ago and continuing through this winter Olympics. He was unsuccessful in his apology and declaration of love, which his ex-girlfriend found entirely unimpressive. After pulling attention from his teammates, he regrets his actions and hopes that attention will refocus on his team.
