Klaebo Claims Skiathlon Gold at Milan Cortina Olympics
TESERO, Italy — Waving to a roaring crowd at a cruising pace, his closest competitors a healthy 2 seconds behind, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klaebo became one medal closer to earning the title of the most decorated men’s cross-country skiing Olympian of all time, winning gold in the men’s 10km + 10km skiathlon on Sunday, .
Klaebo, already the most successful man in the sport with 107 World Cup wins, stayed patient until the final kilometer, where he pushed ahead and left France’s Mathis Desloges and fellow Norwegian Martin Nyenget behind to battle it out in a photo finish for silver and bronze.
“I’m really, really satisfied and happy for sure about the performance,” Klaebo said. “It’s been a lot of nerves before this race, and I really felt like I wanted to do well here, and my body feels good, we had good skis, and it was an amazing day.”
Savelii Korostelev, competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete, just missed the podium. Russian athletes are currently banned from competing under their own flag at the Olympics due to the war in Ukraine.
Norway’s dominance in the sport was on display, with the nation holding the top six spots in the World Cup distance rankings. While a complete podium sweep was anticipated, they ultimately settled for gold and bronze, with Harald Oestberg Amundsen finishing sixth.
The snow conditions presented a challenge for both athletes and wax technicians, remaining soft and wet from the women’s event the previous day. Several athletes crashed on the same turn that caused difficulties for American Jessie Diggins and others on Saturday. Americans Gus Schumacher and Zak Ketterson were among those affected, with Ketterson even breaking a pole and requiring a replacement mid-race.
“I was hopeful in the guys’ race that they would be a little better at it, but coming into it, everyone just started snowplowing and freaking out,” Ketterson said.
“It was just a s—show on that first corner.”
Klaebo strategically conserved energy for much of the race, allowing others to set the pace while remaining within striking distance. However, his status as the clear favorite was never in doubt, and he demonstrated his strength on the final climb, securing his victory with a finishing time of 46:11.0.
This skiathlon gold represents a significant achievement for Klaebo, as he finished 40th in the event at the 2022 Olympics.
With this win, Klaebo now needs three more gold medals, or five medals of any color, to surpass the Olympic record held by fellow Norwegian Bjørn Daehlie. Daehlie won 12 medals, eight of them gold, throughout his Olympic career. Klaebo has previously won three golds in Pyeongchang in 2018 and two golds, one silver, and one bronze in Beijing in 2022.
Given the six cross-country skiing events at the Milan Cortina Games, a complete golden sweep remains a possibility for Klaebo – a feat he accomplished in all six events at the Nordic Ski World Championships in 2025.
The next event on the schedule is Tuesday’s men’s and women’s sprint.
