Olympics 2022
US biathlete follows the birth of his daughter live from Beijing on his cell phone
Leif Nordgren during his Olympic commitment in the biathlon individual over 20 kilometers. His daughter was born the day before.
© Lars Baron / Getty Images
Witness the birth of your child or travel to Beijing for the Winter Olympics? The US biathlete Leif Nordgren faced this problem. He managed both.
US biathlete Leif Nordgren followed the birth of his first child via video call just before his first race at the Winter Olympics. “I FaceTimed my wife a few times during the night. I was on the phone the whole time,” the 32-year-old told NBC.
“That was really cool,” enthused Nordgren on Instagram. “It was really nice to be able to video chat with my wife almost all the time. It was a very special day for our family.” The athlete also posted a photo of the newborns. “I can’t get over how cute this girl is. I can’t wait to get home and meet her,” he wrote.
Nordgren’s wife Caitlin works as a meteorologist for the US broadcaster NBC. Months ago, the couple had stated that the due date was “not good timing,” as Caitlin said. “To learn that Leif most likely wouldn’t be here when our baby arrived was absolutely sad,” she wrote on Instagram. However, since her husband lives in Beijing in the “Olympic bubble” and is therefore practically in lockdown, he can still be easily reached by phone.
Nordgren finished 87th in the individual 20K with seven penalties on Tuesday, the day after his daughter was born.