“Simply perfect”
European Athletics Champion became a mother for the first time
May 11, 2026 – 8:17 a.mReading time: 1 min.
She is one of the world’s best long-distance runners. Now Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal can look forward to a new addition to her family.
Track and field star Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal has become a mother for the first time. The 36-year-old announced this on Sunday via Instagram.
“Olivia was finally born on May 9th and is simply perfect,” Grøvdal wrote about two published photos. In both, she can be seen in the hospital bed with her daughter. The child is wearing a knitted hat. In the second picture you can see Grøvdal, who is still wired with electrodes on her skin, smiling at her newborn. The child’s father is the journalist Magnus Krogsæter Aarre.
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Under the post, some companions congratulated Olivia on the birth. “Sooo beautiful. Congratulations,” wrote the Norwegian athlete Henriette Jæger. Belgian long-distance runner Hanne Verbruggen commented: “Big congratulations.”
Grøvdal has already won numerous medals in her career. In 2024 she was crowned European champion in the half marathon. In 2021, 2022 and 2023 she secured the gold medal at the European Cross Country Championships each time.
