TESERO, Italy — Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo completed his historic gold medal sweep of the men’s cross-country skiing events on Saturday by winning his sixth race and set the record for the most golds by one athlete in a single Winter Olympics.
Klaebo’s victory in the 50-kilometer mass start race shattered the nearly 50-year record set by American speed skater Eric Heiden, who won five golds in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.
All of Heiden’s wins were in individual races and two of Klaebo’s have come in team events, so Heiden’s record for individual wins still stands.
Klaebo’s teammates, Martin Loewstroem Nyenget, took silver, and Emil Iversen, won bronze in a Norwegian sweep.
The three Norwegians broke out to an early lead and then continued to build the gap on their chasers.
In the final lap, Nyenget and Klaebo pushed uphill and dropped Iversen. Klaebo stayed in second waiting to launch his textbook charge uphill.
As the two reached the final hill, Klaebo literally ran away from Nyenget and was bound for glory.
As he glided toward the finish, he pointed his fingers toward the sky, took one stride across the line, toppled over on his right hip and rolled onto his back.
The win extends Klaebo’s record for most career Winter Olympic gold medals to 11 over three Games. The previous record had been eight, which Klaebo broke Feb. 15.
Klaebo has the second-most Olympic golds overall. U.S. swimming great Michael Phelps has 23.
The win gave Norway a record 18th gold medal and further increased their lead in the total medal count in these games to 40 overall.
The country set the record on Friday for the most gold medals won by a nation at a single Winter Olympics when biathlete Johannes Dale-Skjevdal won the 15-kilometer mass start race.
