Johannes Hosflot Klaebo set a historic milestone at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics when he won his 9th gold medal in his career, after the victory of the Norwegian team in the 4x7.5km cross-country skiing relay.
This achievement helped him become the athlete with the most gold medals in the history of the Winter Olympics.
In the final race at Tesero, Klaebo started with a 12.2-second advantage created by teammates Emil Iversen, Martin Loewstroem Nyenget and Einar Hedegart.
He maintained a safe distance and finished with a time of 1 hour 4 minutes 24.05 seconds, helping Norway widen the gap to 22.2 seconds compared to the 2nd-placed France. This is Klaebo's 4th gold medal at this year's Olympics, and also his 9th Olympic gold medal in his career.
With this milestone, Klaebo surpassed Norwegian legends such as Marit Bjoergen, Bjorn Daehlie and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen - who have owned 8 Olympic gold medals.
At the age of 29, Klaebo also became the athlete with the most gold medals in the history of the Winter Olympics. If including the Summer Olympics, only Michael Phelps has more gold medals with 23.
Notably, at this Olympics, Klaebo won all 4 events he participated in and has 2 more chances in the men's sprint team event on February 18 and the 50km classic event on February 21. If he wins 2 more gold medals, he will become the first male athlete to win all 6 gold medals in a Winter Olympics.
In terms of overall achievements, the victory in the men's relay event helped the Norwegian sports delegation increase the total number of gold medals at Milano-Cortina 2026 to 11, continuing to lead the overall standings with 22 medals.
