Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo makes Winter Olympics history with sixth gold

TESERO, Italy – Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo completed a historic sweep of the men’s cross-country skiing events on Saturday, capturing his sixth gold medal of the Winter Games and setting a new record for the most golds won by a single athlete at one Olympics.

Klaebo sealed the milestone in the grueling 50-kilometer mass start race, surpassing the nearly 50-year-old mark set by American speed skater Eric Heiden at the 1980 Winter Olympics, where Heiden won five gold medals.

While two of Klaebo’s victories came in team events — meaning Heiden’s record for most individual golds at a single Games still stands — the Norwegian star’s six-title haul cements his place in Olympic history.

An emotional Klaebo admitted he was overwhelmed after crossing the finish line.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “It still feels really good to race, and I’m always looking forward to going out there and fighting for the medal.”

Remarkably, Klaebo repeated his dominant performance from last year’s world championships in Trondheim, where he also claimed six gold medals.

Norway completed a podium sweep in the 50km race. Martin Loewstroem Nyenget took silver, while Emil Iversen secured bronze.

“I’m starting to believe maybe he is a machine,” Nyenget said after Klaebo powered past him in his trademark uphill sprint. “It’s close to impossible to beat him in the finish.”

The three Norwegians broke away early, steadily extending their lead. On the final lap, Klaebo and Nyenget surged ahead, dropping Iversen. Waiting patiently in second place, Klaebo launched his decisive move on the final hill — accelerating away to secure glory once again.