Norway's Johannes Høsflot Klaebo secured his sixth Olympic gold medal by dominating the men's 10km + 10km skiathlon at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games in Tesero, Italy. The world-class skier pulled away on the final climb to finish in 46:11.0, two seconds ahead of France's Mathis Desloges, who took silver despite a yellow card for a minor course infraction. Fellow Norwegian Martin Loewstroem Nyenget claimed bronze in a photo finish.
The race, held on February 8, 2026, combined 10 kilometers of classic technique followed by 10 kilometers of freestyle skating, starting and finishing at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Val di Fiemme. Soft, slushy snow from the previous day's women's event created challenging conditions, with multiple crashes disrupting the field early on. A pileup at a fast right-hand corner about two kilometers in caught American skiers Gus Schumacher, who finished 24th, and Zak Ketterson, 43rd, along with Sweden's Edvin Anger. Ketterson described it as 'a s—show on that first corner,' noting he broke a pole and burned energy chasing back.
Klaebo, already the most successful man in cross-country skiing with 107 World Cup wins, stayed patient in the lead pack during the classic leg. After the ski exchange, a tangle midway through the skate portion sidelined another Norwegian threat, Harald Oestberg Amundsen, who collided with Russia's Savelii Korostelev (competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete) and finished sixth. Korostelev placed fourth, prompting a rejected protest from AIN over Desloges' brief detour through cones at 13.3km, which earned him a yellow card but no further penalty.
On the decisive Zorzi Climb, Klaebo accelerated, opening a gap that left Desloges and Nyenget to sprint for the remaining medals. 'I’m really, really satisfied and happy,' Klaebo said post-race. 'My body feels good, we had good skis, and it was an amazing day.' This marks his first Olympic skiathlon gold, a redemption from his 40th-place finish in 2022. With five events left, Klaebo eyes a sweep to surpass countryman Bjørn Daehlie's record of eight golds and 12 total medals; he has three golds from 2018 and four medals from 2022.
Desloges, emotional after his silver, reflected: 'Two years ago today, I became U23 world champion; now it’s different. I’m better than two years ago.' Nyenget, in his Olympic debut, called the podium 'a really good day' amid high expectations for Norway's dominant team. U.S. coach Matt Whitcomb noted competitive skis but lamented the crash's impact, while Canada's Xavier McKeever impressed with 13th place in his strong skate leg. Next up: sprint events on Tuesday.
