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A week ago, Sturla Holm Laegreid lived a pretty anonymous life.
He was a fairly well-known biathlon athlete, someone you would only have heard of if you followed winter sports, but not a household name, even in his native Norway.
When he uttered the immortal words, “Three months ago, I made my biggest mistake and cheated on her”, Laegreid, a seven-time world champion, introduced himself and his personal life to the world, creating a story that has made global headlines.
Laegreid’s confession that he had cheated on his now ex-girlfriend, an admission he made shortly after winning bronze in the 20km individual biathlon race at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, garnered attention around the world.
If you haven’t seen, read, or heard about it, Laegreid decided to use a very public moment to share some very private thoughts.
“It’s been the worst week of my life,” Laegreid said, speaking to NRK, a Norwegian broadcaster. “There’s someone I wanted to share it with who might not be watching. Six months ago, I met the love of my life — the most beautiful and kindest person in the world.
Sturla Holm Laegreid with his bronze (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
“I had the gold medal in life, and I am sure there are many people who will see things differently, but I only have eyes for her. Sport has come second these last few days. Yes, I wish I could share this with her.”
It’s not surprising, perhaps, that such an intimate confession went viral in the United States and across the United Kingdom and Europe, given the mixture of sport, love, heartache and infidelity. But how big has the tale been in Norway, at the epicentre of the tale?
“It’s been absolutely massive,” Frode Buanes, head of sports at Norwegian tabloid newspaper VG, says.
VG has since put itself at the middle of the narrative by interviewing (anonymously) Laegreid’s ex-girlfriend. Both the original story when Laegreid made his confession and the follow-up interview with his former partner were the most-read stories on VG’s website on those two days.
That’s despite the Norwegian news cycle being dominated by the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal and the high-profile figures linked in the latest files, while Marius Borg Hoiby, the eldest son of Norway’s crown princess, is currently on trial for charges including rape, assault and filming women without their consent.
“The news cycle is extreme at the moment, but this interview managed to be the top story in Norway for two consecutive days,” Buanes added.
“The fact this happened live on TV helped make it so big. The atmosphere when the interview broke here… I was at the sports desk when one of my colleagues shouted out, ‘He’s admitted to his infidelity!’.
“A gasp just swept through the newsroom.
“It’s so absurd in a way. For a northern European country like Norway, the Winter Olympics is a massive event and people pay attention whenever we win gold medals.
“I’ve seen that interview so many times, and you just see the switch when he turns into it.
“He said he had prepared it, which is fascinating in itself. The story attracted so much attention because many people reflected on whether this was a good idea or not.”
“Sorry for cheating”, read the VG headline when the interview was first aired, with a sub-heading of, “Maybe I’m dumb as a rock”.
Of all VG’s Winter Olympic articles this year, stories about Laegreid’s interview and the resulting fallout are second, third and fourth on the most-read list, only behind Lindsey Vonn’s crash during the women’s downhill final (the American skier has a Norwegian coach, Aksel Lund Svindal).
Social media has been full of Laegreid memes, while during Norway’s biggest radio debate show, two relationship experts discussed the merits of his confession.
“It’s just the shock of somebody telling such a personal thing on live TV for the world,” Buanes says.
“Then there’s a second layer: how you would feel if that was your partner saying that, or if you would say it yourself? Everyone has had heartache and wanted to get someone back. There’s a human element to it.”
Laergried won a second bronze in the men’s biathlon 10km sprint on Friday, only to be mocked by a rival.
France’s Emilien Jacquelin, who finished fourth, joked about the Norwegian after the race. “I was beaten by an unfaithful guy,” the 30-year-old joked to VG.
VG’s interview with Laegreid’s ex-partner told a different side to a very personal story. She told the publication it would be “hard to forgive” him.
“I did not choose to be put in this position, and it hurts to have to be in it,” the publication quoted her as saying. “We have had contact, and he is aware of my opinions on this.”
Laegreid’s words have understandably caused a backlash, not just because of the position he put his ex-partner in, but partly for taking attention away from team-mate Johan-Olav Botn, who won gold. Mostly, though, the furore came because of the position he put his ex-partner in.
“Why the Post-Breakup Grand Gesture Needs to Die,” Cosmopolitan sidled in with, criticising an “Olympic-sized version of the unnecessarily public, post-egregious-offence grand gesture”.
Laegreid has since apologised to both via a Norwegian team statement.
Laegreid won a second bronze on Friday (Photo: Harry How/Getty Images)
“In Norway, the sympathy is with his ex-girlfriend,” Buanes adds.
“We contacted her, I think we’re the only media outlet to do that, and we told her we would grant her anonymity. We also said we felt an obligation to give her a chance to say her perspective.
“She reflected well on it. Sturla has been telling his team-mates he was sorry he did this, because he realised pretty soon he took the spotlight away from his team-mate winning Olympic gold.
“She’s been successful in hiding her identity, but I can tell you on record, we have been contacted by tabloids that want to buy her identity.
“We’ve been really respectful to her. In a way, I feel a responsibility to protect Sturla as well. There were a lot of emotions going through his head at the time. I feel an obligation to take it easy on him from now on.”