The six-race programme at Milano Cortina 2026 ended the only way it could. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won the men's 50 km mass start classic on Saturday, completing a clean sweep of every cross-country event and becoming the first athlete in history to win six gold medals at a single Winter Olympics.
A final climb, a final gap
The Norwegian trio broke away early on the packed powder of the Tesero course. On the last of six laps, Klæbo and Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget pushed clear of Emil Iversen on an uphill section. Then Klæbo accelerated on the same climb where he had broken rivals all fortnight.
He crossed the line 8.9 seconds ahead of Nyenget. Norway swept the podium. Fourth-placed Théo Schely finished nearly three minutes back, and several racers, including Iivo Niskanen, had pulled out during the third lap.
Surpassing Heiden's five from 1980
Eric Heiden's record of five golds at Lake Placid 1980 had stood for almost half a century. Klæbo's collection included the skiathlon, the 10 km freestyle, the individual sprint classic, the team sprint, the relay and the 50 km. The victory also extended his career Olympic gold tally to 11, the most ever by a Winter Olympian.
After crossing the line he pointed to the sky, then toppled onto his hip and rolled onto his back. It was a rare show of exhaustion for the Norwegian. "It's hard to find the words," he told reporters afterwards. "After the world champs last year, we knew that it was possible, but to be able to do it… there were so many emotions when I'm crossing the finish line."
He had already swept all six men's events at the 2025 World Championships in his home town of Trondheim. Repeating the feat on the sport's biggest stage simply confirmed what the record books already suggested: a distance skier operating on his own plane.
