Norwegian biathlete wins another Olympic bronze medal, 3 days after confessing his infidelity

ANTERSELVA, Italy (AP) — Norwegian biathlete Strula Holm Laegreid won his second bronze medal of the Milan Cortina Olympics on Friday — three days after making an unexpected personal confession during a post-race interview.

Laegreid, who also won bronze in the 20-kilometer individual race on Tuesday, tearfully revealed during a live broadcast that he had been unfaithful to his girlfriend and hoped to win her back.

Putting those personal issues aside for Friday’s sprint race, Laegreid skied and shot his way onto another Olympic podium, finishing behind gold medalist Quentin Fillon Maillet of France and silver medalist Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen of Norway.

“I tried to do biathlon and I just focus on the right thing at the right time,” Laegreid replied when asked how he has handled the fallout from his revelations. “Focus on the skiing and the course. Focus on the shooting in the range and it paid off.”

Fillon Maillet, who earned his fourth Olympic gold medal and second of the Milan Cortina Games after being part of the winning French team in the mixed relay, also had some personal news to share.

“I want to dedicate my race today to my girlfriend because we are expecting a baby,” he said, “and she has supported me for many years and helped me be here today.”

Christiansen, who finished 13.7 seconds behind Fillon Maillet's winning time of 22 minutes, 53.1 seconds, earned his third Olympic medal after winning gold and bronze at the 2022 Beijing Games.

“It was maybe the toughest race of my life,” Christiansen said. “I knew I was in really good shape and when you are in good shape you can push for those extra seconds. I didn’t know it was that tight at the end, but I heard that on the last 500 meters it was just one second to silver, or one second to fourth place.

“Maybe it was the race of my life,” he added.

Laegreid ended up 2.2 seconds behind Christiansen and 15.9 behind Fillon Maillet.

“I never gave up and I was rewarded with the bronze,” the Norwegian said.

Laegreid's tearful confession on Tuesday after the 20-kilometer individual event was criticized by some who said it took the focus away from teammate Johan-Olav Botn, who won the gold medal in that race.

“I deeply regret sharing this personal story on what was a day of celebration for Norwegian biathlon,” Laegreid said in a statement issued by the Norwegian team on Wednesday.

None of the top five finishers missed a target, making it a ski race that came down to seconds. Fifth-place finisher Sabastian Samuelsson of Sweden was only 25 seconds behind Fillon Maillet.

Botn missed one shot and was eighth.

The U.S. had high hopes that Campbell Wright would secure the country’s first Olympic medal in biathlon, but one missed target set him back and he finished in 12th place, 1:10 behind the winner. Wright, a rising star and dual citizen from New Zealand, was favored after winning silver medals in the sprint and pursuit at last year’s world championships.

Wright finished 27th in Tuesday’s race.

“The individual was a bit brutal with the cards we were dealt. I don’t think we had the best skis,” Wright said. “But today our skis were more competitive and me not being on the podium was my own fault. So that’s a better feeling.”

The sprint race is the shortest biathlon discipline. Racers head out at 30-second intervals and ski three, 3.3-kilometer loops, shooting once in the prone position and once standing. Biathletes must ski a 150-meter penalty lap for each miss.

Only the top 60 biathletes finishing the sprint race can participate in the pursuit race, which takes place on Sunday. Time gaps are critical in the sprint, because racers in the pursuit go out in the seconds-back order based on their sprint finish.

The women will race the sprint on Saturday.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen, of Norway, reacts in the finish area of the men's 10-kilometer sprint biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Quentin Fillon Maillet, of France, competes during the men's 10-kilometer sprint biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Sturla Holm Laegreid, of Norway, reacts in the finish area of the men's 10-kilometer sprint biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Sturla Holm Laegreid, of Norway, shoots ahead of the men's 10-kilometer sprint biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

PHOENIX (AP) — Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne, Chamique Holdsclaw and the 1996 U.S. Olympic women's basketball team will be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later this year.

Parker, Holdsclaw and members of the 1996 Olympic team were all in attendance as well as Amar’e Stoudemire and Mike D’Antoni.

They will be joined by longtime NBA official Joey Crawford, NBA coach Doc Rivers and Gonzaga coach Mark Few.

The group was announced at halftime of the women's Final Four with many members in attendance.

Parker won three titles in the WNBA with three teams: Los Angeles, Chicago and Las Vegas. She's the only player in league history to win both the MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season.

She also won two titles while playing in college for Tennessee under Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt, two Olympic gold medals and two WNBA MVP awards.

Delle Donne won two league MVP awards in 2015 and 2019, the second of which came when she led the Washington Mystics to their lone WNBA championship. Delle Donne became the first player in league history to shoot over 50% from the field, 40% from behind the 3-point line and 90% from the free throw line.

Holdsclaw won three straight titles at Tennessee from 1996-98, the first team to accomplish that. The 1998 championship was Tennessee’s first undefeated season at 39–0 and the Vols also set an NCAA record for the most wins in a season. Holdsclaw went on to an 11-year WNBA career.

Stoudemire, who was the only NBA player in this year's class, was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003 and six-time All-Star. He spent the first eight years of his career with the Phoenix Suns, where he teamed with D'Antoni.

Rivers got nearly 1,200 victories on his resume which puts him eighth on the all-time wins list. He led the Boston Celtics to the NBA championship in 2008 and was also in charge of the Los Angeles Clippers during their Lob City era.

Few has won over 770 games at Gonzaga in his career at the school. He set the NCAA Division I men's coaching record by winning 81 games in his first three years at the school.

Crawford officiated 2,561 regular-season NBA games and 50 Finals games over his 39-year career. He retired in 2016.

The enshrinement ceremony will take place in August at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

FILE - Tennessee's Candace Parker (3) passes around North Carolina's La'Tangela Atkinson in the first half of the NCAA college basketball tournament regional final, Tuesday, March 28, 2006, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, File)