Team USA’s Leif Nordgren becomes a dad as he competes in the Winter Olympics

Biathlete welcomes his first child while competing in Beijing

Meredith Clark

New York

Tuesday 08 February 2022 11:58 EST

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(Getty Images)

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Team USA’s Leif Nordgren can add more than just Olympic biathlete to his list of accomplishments. Now he can add “Dad” too.

Nordgren’s wife, Caitlin Napoleoni, gave birth to their first child, named Astrid Lynae Nordgren, on the evening of 6 February — 8.55 am Beijing time. The US Biathlon team shared the announcement on Instagram, saying the mother and baby are both “happy and healthy”.

While the proud dad was a little preoccupied competing at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Nordgren was able to FaceTime his wife from 6,570 miles away to meet his newborn baby.

Weeks before the birth of their daughter, Napoleoni shared the moment that the couple learned Astrid’s due date was the same day as the opening ceremonies. “Finding out Leif would most likely not be here for our baby’s arrival was absolutely sad,” she captioned her Instagram post, “But finding out our due date was literally the day of opening ceremonies was a fun way to approach these two big moments in our lives despite his being away.”

The biathlon combines two very different sports into one race, cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. The new dad competed in the event on Tuesday, and finished 87th among 92 racers. This year's games in Beijing mark Nordgren's third and final Olympics, after competing in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games and 2014 Sochi Winter Games. The Olympian told TODAY that he’s looking forward to returning home and spending time with his new family. "I’m actually excited to get the Olympics over with and get home, more than anything, I think," he said.