ANTERSELVA: 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.
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 one 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.”
Norwegian Olympic medalist confesses to cheating on girlfriend in post-race interview
https://arab.news/mu5mu
Norwegian Olympic medalist confesses to cheating on girlfriend in post-race interview
- On Tuesday, he admitted to being unfaithful to his girlfriend, calling it the biggest mistake of his life
- Fighting back tears, he described her as the “gold medal” in his life
Rubio meets Orbán in Budapest as US and Hungary are to sign a civilian nuclear pact
- Trump has been outspoken in his support for the nationalist Orbán in the Hungarian leader’s bid for reelection in two months
BUDAPEST, Hungary: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in the Hungarian capital on Monday for meetings with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government during which they plan to sign a civilian-nuclear cooperation agreement heralded by US President Donald Trump.
Trump has been outspoken in his support for the nationalist Orbán in the Hungarian leader’s bid for reelection in two months. Orbán and his Fidesz party are facing their most serious challenge in the April 12 vote since the right-wing populist retook power in 2010.
The stop in Hungary’s capital follows Rubio’s visit to Slovakia on Sunday, after he previously attended the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
Led by Euroskeptic populists who oppose support for Ukraine and vocally back Trump, Slovakia and Hungary represent friendly territory for Rubio as he pushes to shore up energy agreements with both Central European countries.
Widely considered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most reliable advocate in the European Union, Orbán has maintained warm relations with the Kremlin despite its war against Ukraine while currying favor with Trump and his MAGA — short for the 2016 Trump campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” — movement.
Many in MAGA and the broader conservative world view Hungary as a shining example of successful conservative nationalism, despite the erosion of its democratic institutions and its status as one of the EU’s poorest countries.
In a post on his Truth Social site earlier this month, Trump endorsed Orbán for the coming elections and called him a “truly strong and powerful Leader” and “a true friend, fighter, and WINNER.”
Trump has praised Orbán’s firm opposition to immigration, exemplified by a fence his government erected on Hungary’s southern border in 2015 as hundreds of thousands of refugees fled Syria and other countries in the Middle East and Africa.
Other US conservatives admire Orbán’s hostility to LGBTQ+ rights. His government last year banned the popular Budapest Pride celebration and allowed facial recognition technology to be used to identify anyone participating despite the ban. It has also effectively banned same-sex adoption and same-sex marriage, and disallowed transgender individuals from changing their sex in official documents.
Orbán has remained firmly committed to purchasing Russian energy despite efforts by the EU to wean off such supplies, and received an exemption from US sanctions on Russian energy after a November meeting in the White House with Trump.
Apparently trusting that his political and personal affinity with the US leader could pay even greater dividends, Orbán and his government have sought to woo Trump to Hungary before the pivotal April 12 elections — hoping such a high-profile visit and endorsement would push Orbán, who is trailing in most polls, over the finish line.
Budapest has hosted several annual iterations of the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, and another was hastily rescheduled this year to fall in March, just before Hungary’s elections.
