The seven-time world champion finished third in the biathlon, a combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, behind champion Johan-Olav Botn from Norway and France’s Eric Perrot.
It is the second Olympic medal for Lagrade, who won gold in the relay at the 2022 Olympics.
Asked about his position at a press conference later, he added, “Of course, now I hope I haven’t ruined Johan’s day.”
“I don’t know if it was the right choice or not, but it was the choice I made.
“I decided to tell the world what I did, so maybe there’s a chance she’ll find out what she really means to me. Maybe she won’t, but I don’t want her to think I didn’t try everything to get her back.
“I don’t want to steal the show. I hope this lasts just a day or two, and then you’ll be an Olympic gold medalist forever.”
Johannes Thingnes Boe, a five-time Olympic champion and now a biathlon expert for broadcaster NRK, questioned the timing of Laegreid’s admission.
Boe, Laegreid’s former teammate, said: “I was completely surprised. His actions were wrong. We saw a repentant boy standing there. Unfortunately, the time, place and timing were all wrong.”
Botn shouted the name of former teammate Sivert Guttorm Bakken as he crossed the line to win the gold medal.
Bakken was found dead on December 23 in a hotel room in northern Italy, about two hours away from the biathlon venue.
“I was racing with him the whole last loop, and it was more of a feeling of crossing the finish line together, and it was really special to see first place next to my name,” Botn said emotionally.
Laegreid added: “We had five athletes on the starting line and one of them was watching from above. This was for Sivert.”
