Biathlon: Tarjei Boe’s text message at Sturla Holm Lægreid
At the age of 28, Sturla Holm Lægreid continues to write his Games in chiaroscuro. In the Olympic sprint at the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games, the Norwegian won bronze, his second medal since the start of the fortnight, after the one he had already won in the individual event. All this in a particularly exposed personal context.
A few days earlier, after his first podium, the Scandinavian had surprised everyone by publicly revealing that he had been unfaithful to his partner, speaking of “the worst week of [his] life”. These comments were made in the heat of the moment, and triggered a worldwide media frenzy. From Pascal Praud on CNews to the Hollywood celebrity website TMZ.
Aware of the magnitude of his statements, he went back on them in a press release, apologising for having diverted attention from a day that was supposed to celebrate the Norwegian biathlon. This clarification did not entirely calm the uproar.
« C’était particulier à vivre. Mais j’ai essayé de ne pas me laisser perturber. Je suis content de ce que j’ai réussi à faire aujourd’hui malgré les circonstances »
said the biathlete, as reported by TV2.
On the track at Antholz (Italy), the Norwegian delivered a solid race. Clean in his shooting and committed on his skis, he remained in the race for the podium right up to the final intermediate. In front, his compatriot Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen took silver, while Frenchman Quentin Fillon Maillet won gold. Sturla Holm Lægreid held on to secure third place, confirming his consistency inmajor events.
“It was fantastic. It was absolutely wonderful. It was a real battle, much harder than I’d imagined. I had to draw on my reserves to win in that arena,” concluded the silver medallist.
In the Italian Alps, he proved that, despite the media storm, his level remains intact. A text message from Tarjei Boe, in his new guise as a consultant for Norwegian television NRK, did him a world of good: “If there’s anyone who can handle this, it’s you, Sturla”.
- Quentin Fillon-Maillet crowned Olympic sprint champion with a perfect race, Emilien Jacquelin fourth
- Seven Olympic medals like Martin Fourcade, four titles like Léon Marchand: Quentin Fillon-Maillet writes a new page in his legend by winning the sprint
- Biathlon: the medals table and the full list of winners at the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games
