US Olympian In Awe After Watching Birth Of His First Child Via Video Call

US biathlete Leif Nordgren has shared his feelings after watching his wife give birth to their first child via video call from the Beijing Games.

The Olympian had expected his wife to be delivered of the child before his departure but it didn’t happen until he left.

The baby eventually came the day before his first race, after being apart from her since mid-November.

Naija News understands that Nordgren wife’s due date was initially February 4, the day of the opening ceremony.

Sharing his feelings, the 32-year-old olympian said it was cool watching the birth of his daughter on the phone.

“It was really nice to be on video chat and talking with my wife pretty much the entire time. A really special day for our family,” he said.

Nordgren who came 87th in Tuesday’s 20-kilometre individual biathlon said he could barely handle how cute the child is.

“I can’t wait to get home to meet her!! @caitlinnordgren we did good,” he wrote on Instagram on Wednesday alongside a picture of his newborn daughter.

Sharing her side of the whole thing, Nordgren’s wife, Caitlin Nordgren, a meteorologist for NBC, told the US broadcaster before she gave birth that they had realised as soon as she was pregnant that it was not good timing for them.

“Finding out Leif would most likely not be here for our baby’s arrival was absolutely sad,” she had written on Instagram.

But she said there was “a silver lining” because her husband’s presence inside the strict Covid-19 ‘bubble’ surrounding the Olympics meant she could easily get hold of him.”

“He’s essentially in a little bit of a lockdown and therefore he will be a little bit more available to answer my phone calls and things like that,” she said.

“I can’t wait to get the Games over with and get back home, ” Leif Nordgren added after the race.

“It’s really exciting to have something so big to go home to now,” he said.