Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo is having a cross-country skiing world championships for the ages
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, the world's top male cross-country skier for much of the last decade, went into the world championships in his hometown of Trondheim with a shot at the greatest major competition performance in the sport's modern history.
Klaebo is now just one (very long) race away from perfection.
He has five gold medals in five events after anchoring the Norwegian men's relay to gold on Thursday with King Harald and Queen Sonja in attendance.
'Just look at the atmosphere here and all the spectators,' Klaebo, who lives 10 minutes from the Granasen Ski Centre, said last week after being cheered on by 25,000 strong. 'It's for sure something else and by far the coolest experience of my life.'
There is one event left for Klaebo to complete the first six-for-six world championships: the 50km on Saturday, a 31-mile endurance test and the only event that Klaebo has never won at an Olympics or World Championships.
Klaebo took 50km silver at the last worlds in 2023, one second behind countryman Pal Golberg after two hours on the snow. In 2021, Klaebo crossed the 50km finish line first, then was disqualified for obstructing another skier near the start of the final straight.
Verdens Gang, Norway's largest tabloid newspaper, set (or echoed) the tone for these worlds after Klaebo won the first event, the sprint, last Thursday.
On the sports section cover was Klaebo, standing on the top step of the podium, with a checklist graphic underneath him: One race down, five to go.
That graphic was updated with second, third and fourth green checks on front pages following Klaebo's wins in the 20km skiathlon on Saturday, the 10km on Tuesday and the team sprint on Wednesday.
Klaebo said he was 'living in a dream right now,' according to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation.
Then in Thursday's relay, he broke a tie with Petter Northug, Klaebo's predecessor as the sport's Norwegian king, for the most world titles for a male cross-country skier with the 14th of his career.
He also became the second cross-country skier — male or female — to win five golds at a single worlds. Nobody has gone six for six since the program was expanded from five events to six starting in 2001 for men and 2003 for women.
Klaebo, a 28-year-old coached by his grandfather, already owns five Olympic titles from 2018 and 2022. He is three shy of the career Winter Olympic gold medals record across all sports.
It is too early to start dreaming about the Milan Cortina Games. He still has 31 miles left to ski at a world championships for the ages.
'I'm not thinking much about 2026 right now,' Klaebo said last week. 'The main goal now is what we are doing here now, and what we trying to accomplish here.'
NBC Sports' Dan Meyer contributed to this report from Trondheim.
Nick Zaccardi,
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Athletics vs. Angels Highlights
Phillies PGL crew reacts to 'terrible' & 'uninspired' loss to Brewers The Phillies only mustered four hits against the Brewers on Friday night, and the Phillies Postgame Live crew isn't too happy with their lackluster PGL crew reacts to 'terrible' & 'uninspired' loss to Brewers originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia 1:37 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
☕️🥐 FC Ptit Dej: Haaland eyes Cherki 👀, Aït-Nouri a big Jul fan 💯
Haaland is keeping a close eye on Cherki 👀 It's written: this duo is going to wreak havoc, and it seems the Cyborg is the first to realize it. While all sources agree that Cherki is set to sign with the Skyblues, nothing is official yet. Still, Erling Haaland already seems eager to play with the French international. On Instagram, the Norwegian liked Fabrizio Romano's legendary "Here we go." Haaland X Cherki, the hype is massive. The brilliant introduction of Rayan Aït-Nouri 😂 We're staying with Manchester City, who are dominating the news these days. While Rayan Cherki's arrival is imminent, Rayan Aït-Nouri's is already official. The Algerian full-back took part in a very friendly introduction video where his honesty and naturalness are a pleasure to see. Fan of JUL and a kebab lover: he's basically the mate we all want to have! Luis Enrique still on cloud nine 🥳 Ten days after PSG's Champions League triumph, the party is still going strong. Passing through Barcelona, Luis Enrique spots some Parisian fans singing the PSG anthem. That's all it takes for him to join the group, resulting in some fantastic footage! A bit of fun for Lucho before getting back to business with the Club World Cup. The must-sees from yesterday 🍿 - 2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Belgium avoids disaster, Italy finally bounces back, Croatia dominates... Advertisement - 🚨 OFFICIAL: Inter's new coach revealed! - Transfer window: OL and Manchester City have reached an agreement for Cherki TV Schedule 📺 8:45 PM: Finland - Poland (L'Équipe Live) 8:45 PM: Netherlands - Malta (L'Équipe Live) 8:45 PM: England - Senegal 10:00 PM: Bolivia - Chile This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here. 📸 CORNELIUS POPPE
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
College athletics is about to change forever
Hello everyone, I'm Dan Lucy on the Ozarks First digital desk. Friday night a federal judge approved a $2.8 billion dollar settlement that paves the way for colleges to pay their student-athletes. Starting July first, the old college formula of amateur athletes getting scholarships and meal money is gone. This is all the result of grant house. Grant was a swimmer at Arizona State University who said athletes invest a lot of their time and bring a lot money to the university, and they ought to get a cut of that. He sued the NCAA. And after nearly five years of bickering, both sides agreed to a settlement. And Friday a federal judge approved the deal. Out of that $2.8 billion dollars, colleges and universities will be allowed to pay out as much as $20 million dollars a year to their student athletes. That means about 50 percent of the school's sports revenue will pay athletic salaries. A cut of that money will also pay former athletes who missed out on name, image and likeness money. Where will they get all of that money? They'll try to solicit donations from alumni. And some sports economists say they'll have to make some cuts to things like coaches' pay, facilities and maybe even non-revenue-bearing sports. Richard Paulsen/Michigan Sports Management Professor: 'Another place you might see cuts is Olympic sports…. And now if more money is going to the athletes and football, let's say, that's less money that can be used to cover, you know, scholarships and some of these other sports.' Because of this settlement, teams will have roster limits instead of scholarship limits. That means there may not be any room for walk-ons. Another concern, the big power conference schools will just get richer and bigger. And who decides how much the athletes will get paid? The plan is for the conferences and universities to set the pay scale. One of the biggest and powerful conferences is the Southeastern Conference. Mizzou and Arkansas are a part of that super conference. And SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey reacted to the decision. And he says ultimately it'll be a good thing for college athletics. Greg Sankey/SEC commissioner (it's a good thing…but there will be growing pains) This settlement, and all the money involved was one of the driving forces that moved Missouri State from the Valley to Conference USA. We'll have to wait and see how this all pans out. One things for sure. The old days of college sports in the 50's and 60's is long gone. For more sports watch Ozarks First news at nine and ten. And I'll see you then. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
