Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won gold in the men's 50km mass start classic cross-country skiing event at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on February 21. He led a Norwegian podium sweep, finishing ahead of teammates Martin Loewstroem Nyenget and Emil Iversen. The victory marked Klaebo's sixth gold medal of the Games, breaking the single-Olympics record previously held by Eric Heiden.
At the Tesero Cross-Country Stadium in Italy, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo completed a historic sweep of all six men's cross-country skiing events at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. In the grueling 50km mass start classic race, which consisted of six laps on an 8.3km course under good conditions with packed powder, Klaebo finished in 2 hours, 6 minutes, and 44.8 seconds. His teammates Martin Loewstroem Nyenget took silver, 8.9 seconds behind, and Emil Iversen claimed bronze, 30.7 seconds back, securing a Norwegian podium sweep.
Klaebo's win surpassed the record of five gold medals in a single Winter Olympics set by American speedskater Eric Heiden at the 1980 Lake Placid Games. While two of Klaebo's golds came in team events—the 4x7.5km relay and team sprint—his individual triumphs included the skiathlon, sprint classic, and 10km interval start free. This achievement extends his career total to 11 Winter Olympic golds, second only to Michael Phelps' 23 across all Olympics.
"It's been crazy, it's a dream come true," Klaebo told BBC Sport after the race. "I really think this Olympics has been perfect. Being able to crown the Olympics with the 50km was unbelievable." Born in Oslo and raised in Trondheim, a hub for cross-country skiing, Klaebo holds records including 116 World Cup wins and 15 world championships, with a sweep of all six events at the 2025 Trondheim Worlds.
The race saw the Norwegians pull ahead after about 40 minutes, building a lead without changing skis at the midpoint, unlike many competitors. In the final lap, Klaebo surged on the uphill climb to drop Nyenget. American skiers finished lower, with Gus Schumacher in 13th and Hunter Wonders in 35th; Ben Ogden withdrew due to illness.
Klaebo's performance contributed to Norway's dominance, with 18 golds and 40 total medals, setting records for most golds and total medals in a single Winter Olympics. Great Britain's Andrew Musgrave placed sixth, noting the Norwegian strength: "They're just so dominant at the moment."
