Klaebo Closes On Winter Games Record Gold Tally With Another Win, Sweden Sweeps Women’s Race

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo blazed to his second consecutive victory at the Milan Cortina Games in the cross-country sprint on Tuesday to win his seventh Olympic gold medal and close in on the Winter Olympics record.

The 29-year-old Norwegian star separated from the field with a punishing late uphill run to finish in 3 minutes, 39.8 seconds, easing off in the home stretch to leave Ben Ogden of the United States 0.8 seconds behind. Another Norwegian, Oskar Opstad Vike, placed third, 6.8 seconds behind the leader.

Linn Svahn led a Swedish sweep in the women’s competition, edging defending Olympic champion Jonna Sundling with Maja Dahlqvist in third place in a race watched by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

Top-ranked Jessie Diggins of the United States was eliminated in the quarterfinals, compounding her disappointment after a fall in her opening race over the weekend.

Klaebo’s seven gold medals are one shy of the Winter Olympics record shared by three athletes. After his latest triumph, the world’s top-ranked cross-country skier acknowledged that some of the pressure he felt at the start of the Games has now lifted.

ALSO READ- Lindsey Vonn Crashes In Winter Olympics Downhill, Taken Away By Helicopter As US Teammate Johnson Wins Gold

“It was amazing,” he said. “My shape is good, and I was a little bit more relaxed before this race than I was before Sunday.” America’s Ben Ogden grabbed his country’s first individual Olympic sprint medal in cross country, but said it was Klaebo’s race to lose.

“Unbelievable, unbelievable. I just can’t, I can’t put into words. I’m just so thrilled,” the 25-year-old Vermont native said. “I’m proud to be the first in the sprint, but there will be more, don’t you worry.” Klaebo high-fived and hugged Norway fans after his race, among them his fiancé Pernille Doesvik, who wore a jacket bearing a large image of the champion skier.

But it was the Swedish fans who had the most to celebrate, singing the national anthem with their skiers in all three places on the women’s podium. “I think I have the best team and the best teammates,” said Sundling, who completed the sprint 1.5 seconds behind the leader’s time of 4 minutes, 3.1 seconds. “I’m really happy to be a part of the team, our Swedish team,” she said. “It’s such a strong team, and we always push each other to be better.”