TESERO, Italy
Johannes Høsflot Klaebo completed his golden sweep of the men’s cross-country skiing events Saturday, winning the 50-kilometer mass start to become the first athlete ever to claim six gold medals at a single Winter Olympics.
The Norwegian star shattered the nearly 50-year-old record set by American speed skater Eric Heiden, who won five golds at the 1980 Lake Placid Games. Heiden’s mark for individual golds remains intact, however, as two of Klaebo’s victories came in team events.
Klaebo crossed the finish line overcome with emotion, repeating the feat he first achieved at last year’s world championships in Trondheim, where he also won all six events.
“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.”
His teammates made it a Norwegian sweep. Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget took silver and Emil Iversen bronze.
“I’m starting to believe maybe he is a machine,” Nyenget said of Klaebo, who sprinted uphill past him at the finish in his trademark style. “It’s close to impossible to beat him in the finish.”
Six races. Six golds. A place in Olympic history all his own.
By James Kisoo
