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)

CAIRO (AP) — Dubai has announced a new chairman for DP World, one of the world’s largest logistics companies, replacing the outgoing head who was named in the Jeffrey Epstein documents.

The announcement by the government’s Dubai Media Office did not specifically name Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem. However, it said that Essa Kazim was named DP World’s chairman and Yuvraj Narayan was named group CEO. Those were positions held by bin Sulayem.

DP World is a logistics giant that runs the Jebel Ali port in Dubai and operates terminals in other ports around the world. It has long been a pillar of the economy of the Middle Eastern city.

The announcement comes a day after financial groups in Canada and the United Kingdom said they’ve paused future ventures with DP World after newly released emails showed a yearslong friendship between bin Sulayem and Epstein.

The emails — some referencing porn, sexual massages and escorts — surfaced in the cache of Epstein-related documents recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Epstein killed himself in jail in 2019 after he was charged with sex trafficking. The emails do not appear to implicate bin Sulayem in Epstein’s alleged crimes. DP World did not respond to request for comment.

Bin Sulayem previously had a larger role as chairman of the Dubai World conglomerate, which at the time included the property developer Nakheel. That company was behind the creation of human-made islands in the shape of palm trees and a map of the world that helped cement Dubai’s status as an up-and-coming global city.

The state-run WAM news agency also reported that Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, named a new head of the city-state’s Ports Customs and Free Zone Corporation. That also was a position held by bin Sulayem.

The topics in the emails between Epstein and bin Sulayem range widely, including President Donald Trump, sex and theology. Some emails — like others in the Epstein files — contain typographical errors.

In one email from 2013, Epstein wrote to bin Sulayem that “you are one of my most trusted friends in very sense of the word, you have never let me down." In response, bin Sulayem said: “Thank you my friend I am off the sample a fresh 100% female Russian at my yacht.”

That same year, bin Sulayem sent Epstein an email showing a menu for a massage business which included sexual offerings. Two years later, bin Sulayem texted Epstein a link to a porn site, and, in 2017, Epstein sent bin Sulayem a link to an escort website.

Epstein e-mailed with bin Sulayem about Steve Bannon, the Trump acolyte, in 2018, saying “you will like him.” In another exchange, bin Sulayem asked Epstein about an event where it appeared Trump would be in attendance.

FILE - Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the group chairman and CEO of Dubai-backed port operator DP World, listens during a news conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, March 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell,File)