Klaebo Wins World Cup at 21, Youngest Ever Champion

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won the overall Cross-Country World Cup at 21, becoming the youngest holder of the Crystal Globe in the sport's history. It was his first season standing at the very top of the discipline.

Falun finale seals a first Crystal Globe

The 2017/18 World Cup reached its close in Falun, Sweden, on 18 March 2018. Klæbo ended the campaign first in the overall standings, ahead of a field of far more experienced rivals.

The Globe capped a debut senior season for the young Norwegian. It arrived only weeks after his first Olympic Games.

At PyeongChang that February he had taken three golds, including the classic sprint at 21. He carried that form straight into the season's finish and did not let it slip.

One record title, and five more to follow

No skier had ever claimed the overall crown so young. The mark placed Klæbo at the head of the record books before his career had truly opened.

Five more overall titles followed the first. By 2026 he held six overall crowns, eight sprint titles, and more than 100 World Cup victories, the first man to reach that number.

The years after Falun brought a fuller reward. He swept all six events at the 2025 World Championships in Trondheim, then took six golds at Milano Cortina 2026.

That Olympic haul lifted him past Eric Heiden's mark of five golds at a single Winter Games. It also carried him beyond the all-time Winter Olympic record of eight career golds.

The Falun title was the start of it all. Everything that came after grew from that first season at the top.