ANTERSELVA, Italy, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Norway's Sturla Holm Laegreid followed up his bronze medal in the biathlon at the Winter Olympics on Tuesday with a stunningconfession 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."
However, his appeal may have fallen on deaf ears, as his ex-girlfriend, who has asked to remain anonymous, told VG on Wednesday morning.
"It's hard to forgive. Even after a declaration of love in front of the whole world," she said in a message to the newspaper.
"I did not choose to be put in this position, and it hurts to have to be in it. We have had contact and he is aware of my opinions on this."
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 me to give that interview. So yeah, I don't know. I was, I'm a bit, I don't know ... I'm not really here mentally," he told reporters about an hour after the interview.
Speaking to VG later on - as his confession became one of the day's talking points at the Olympics - Laegreid doubled down, begging his girlfriend again for a second chance.
"I told her a week ago, and then it ended, of course. I'm not ready to give up... I'm taking the consequences for what I've done, I regret it with all my heart," he said.
"I want to be a good role model, but I have to admit when I make mistakes. You have to admit when you do something you can't stand behind, and when you hurt someone you love so much."
NRK's biathlon expert Johannes Thingnes Boe, who won four gold medals in Beijing, was shocked at the timing of Laegreid's outpouring.
"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," Boe, a former teammate of Laegreid, said during NRK's studio broadcast.
"With Sturla the emotions are all on the outside of his body, he can't hide them," Boe added. "I think it just burst out. I don't know if he had planned for it to happen (and) I don't know how he sees that behaviour in hindsight."
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor, additional reporting by Tommy Lund; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Hugh Lawson and Ros Russell)
