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Norway's cross-country king Klaebo wins sixth gold of Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics / Photo: © AFP
Norway's cross-country king Klaebo wins sixth gold of Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics
Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Klaebo won his sixth gold medal of the Milan-Cortina Games on Saturday, extending his own all-time record for Winter Olympics titles to 11.
By taking the 50 kilometre mass start title, 29-year-old Klaebo also became the first athlete in history to win all six cross-country skiing races at one Games.
"To be able to finish it up with six out of six, there couldn't be a better way to do that," said the athlete from Oslo.
"Italy has treated me well this Olympics."
He led a Norwegian sweep of the medals ahead of Martin Nyenget and Emil Iversen.
Klaebo joins two other athletes to have won all of their events at a single Winter Olympics -- US speed skater Eric Heiden, who took five golds at the 1980 Lake Placid Games, and Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, who won four in Salt Lake City in 2002.
"The cool part was what we did here in the sprint," said Klaebo.
"Some of the clips went viral and people are starting to see a bit more of cross-country skiing.
"It's a big difference to what we are used to in the world championships, where I feel like (only) the Nordic countries are really paying attention, but the Olympics is way bigger."
The only athlete in Winter or Summer Games history with more Olympic titles than Klaebo is American swimmer Michael Phelps, who won 23 golds.
Klaebo won three golds at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games, and another two in Beijing in 2022.
He also has a silver and bronze medal from the Beijing Games.
Nyenget could not hold off Klaebo in the final uphill section.
"I tried my best until the finish but it's almost like you give up when you know his finish is coming," the 33-year-old said.
"It was no surprise to see him do that. We have been competing against each other for some years now. I know he’s quite good at this.
"I’m really happy about my performance but Johannes is the king."
In the absence of his Russian rival Alexander Bolshunov, who was not allowed to compete at the Olympics under a neutral banner, Klaebo has broken the record for Winter Games titles, which had stood at eight gold medals before these Games in Italy.
H.Reyes--SFF
