Norway’s king of cross-country skiing, Johannes Hosflot Klebbo, broke the record for most gold medals won at a Winter Olympics with his sixth Games.
Klebbo led a Norwegian sweep of the podium at the 50 km mass start classic, with teammates Martin Lövström Nynget and Emil Iversen taking silver and bronze, respectively.
The 29-year-old completed the brutal distance in two hours, six minutes, and 44.8 seconds, 8.9 seconds ahead of Nyngate, who won her third medal of the Games.
“It’s hard to find the words. It’s unbelievable,” Klebo said.
He broke the previous record of five golds in a single Games, held by American speed skater Eric Hayden since the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.
It also extended his record for most gold medals at the Winter Olympics to 11.
while becoming the first athlete to win all six cross-country events in a single Games.
Only American swimming legend Michael Phelps, who won 23 gold medals, has more Olympic titles.
Born in Oslo, Klæbo moved to Trondheim – a paradise of cross-country skiing trails – as a young child, a move that helped him become one of the greatest skiers the sport has ever seen.
No other man, active or retired, comes close to his record of 116 World Cup wins, while he is also a 15-time world champion, having won all six titles on home ice in Trondheim last year.
“After the World Championships last year, we knew it was possible, but it is difficult to find the right words to express it,” he said.
“[There are] many emotions when I’m crossing the finish line.”
Her sixth Olympic gold in Milan-Cortina added to the titles she had previously won at the Games in skiathlon, sprint classic, 10-kilometer interval start-free, 4×7.5-kilometer relay, and team sprint.
