Biathlon-Tearful Norwegian confesses to cheating on girlfriend, begs forgiveness after bronze medal win

ANTERSELVA, Italy, Feb 10 : 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 realised 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 Norwegian state broadcaster NRK 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. 

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

"Maybe it was really selfish of