Written by: Theodore, Reporter in ISFM
In history, there has only been one athlete who had over ten gold medals, Micheal Phelps, but this year, Phelps has some company in the double digits: in 18 years, nobody has ever broken this barrier of 10 gold medals. Never has anyone ever reached ten (except Micheal Phelps), but Johannes Høsflot Klæbo was the one to do it. The 29 year old accomplished something of true greatness this year, establishing himself as the world’s best winter olympian and anyone chasing the most gold medals this year was left behind. If the Olympic games were to be a stage, then the performance would be a one-man show with only Johannes Høsflot Klæbo there. Everyone else would be backstage, hidden.
Who is Johannes Høsflot Klæbo
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo is a Norwegian cross-country skier, born in 1996 in Oslo, who first began skiing at 2. He began to practice skiing with his grandfather who trained him at age 15, then joined his first Olympics in 2018 at 21 where he won gold three times in four competitions he entered. The 21 year old Norwegian had already proven himself as talented in cross-country skiing to the world, though he would come back in 2022 and win 4 medals: 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze. After, he got engaged to his girlfriend. This year, he arrived at Milano-Cortina and proved his dominance as the greatest cross-country skier and winter olympian in the world.
Back-to-back-to-back wins at Milano-Cortina
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo entered all competitions in cross-country skiing, aiming to become the most decorated cross-country male skier in the Olympics by winning at least 4 gold medals. He already had 5 gold medals and this would bring him to 9, a level only few have ever reached. By the last competition, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo had won all, but one was left, the one to decide if he were to make Olympic history twice or just once: the 50 km mass start.
The marathon of cross-country skiing
The 50 km mass start is a sort of marathon, where all the athletes begin at the same time, like a marathon. It is a test of skill, speed and high endurance but also smart, efficient and tactical strategies. During the race, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and his two other teammates quickly got ahead of the other participants, showing how they were here to win gold. The end was the deceive turning point, while one of the Norwegians fell a little behind, while Klæbo surged ahead in the final climb and won gold with his iconic move: the Klæbo climb. The podium looked like this:
-Gold: Norway
-Silver: Norway
-Bronze: Norway
The Norwegians had completely dominated the race and the podium was all theirs.
A full sweep
Finally, he completed the first full sweep of all the competitions for cross-country skiing in Olympic history and at the same moment became the second most decorated athlete in all of history, summer and winter. Then he also became the first ever to receive 6 gold medals in the winter olympics. These are all the competitions in the winter olympics for cross-country skiing:
- 20 km Skiathlon
- Cross-country Sprint
- 10 km
- Team relay (4 x 7.5 km)
- Team sprint
- 50 km mass start
A new skiing era may have just begun… with a king who leads.
Written by: Theodore, Reporter in ISFM
Leave a Reply