Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo's Olympic campaign began with a fearsome win in men’s skiathlon Sunday in Italy, coming from behind in the final stretch to win gold.
The Norwegian cross-county legend entered the 2026 Olympics with five individual gold medals and his sights set on the all-time record of eight (held by three Norwegians — Marit Bjoergen, Ole Einar Bjorndalen and Bjorn Daehlie.) The Olympic skiathlon medal evaded Kaebo previously as he placed 40th in Beijing in 2022.
"I’m going to take one race at a time and then we’ll see. But it’s a pretty good start and, with the weather and the crowds, it was amazing out there,” Klaebo said after the race about potentially becoming the most decorated men’s cross-country skier.
His skiathlon time this year came in at 46 minutes 11 seconds. France’s Mathis Desloges won silver, 2 seconds behind and Norway’s Martin Loewstroem Nyenget won bronze, 2.1 seconds back.
The Norwegians were a force to be seen during the skiathlon as they led the way four-strong. Klaebo carved out an early lead in the classic section and was in front at the pit stop, far different from his position at the race's halfway point in the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Due to his position, he was using his usual technique of sitting back with a confident body language as he followed his competitor's pace. In the freestyle section, the Norwegians worked in synch to dominate the race.
France’s Hugo Lapalus was in the chase group and led the last two freestyle laps. In the last 15 seconds, Klaebo showed just how dangerous he can be in a race by gaining in the final 15 seconds on Desloges to win gold.
The results of the race were delayed due to deliberations after Desloges received a warning for cutting across a course marker while rounding a lap. It was determined that Desloges could keep his medal and a protest registered by neutral athlete Savelii Korostelev, who finished fourth, was dismissed.
"It was just a mistake, I didn't want to gain a place, I'd just like to say sorry," Desloges told Reuters. "I think the jury saw what happened and I don't wish to say much more about this topic. It was not intentional."
America’s Gus Schumacher placed 24th with a time of 48 minutes 27 seconds, the highest ranked cross-county skier for Team USA in the skiathlon. Hunter Wonders placed 31st in his Olympic debut, Zanden McMullen placed 36th and Zak Ketterson placed 43rd.
"It was hard," Wonders said after the race. "It was a hard course with tricky conditions. The skiathlon is difficult because it mixes it up with the muscle groups you use and takes a second to transition, but it was fun! Great Olympic debut."
The race got off to a clean start with slightly warmer conditions. On the Italian course, a Swedish athlete snapped his pole and a few went down around the same icy corner that delayed American Jessie Diggins in the women’s skiathlon race on Saturday.
FULL RESULTS