TESERO, Italy — A wave to the crowd, a slide across the line — and a moment of Winter Olympic history.
Norwegian cross-country skiing star Johannes Hosflot Klebbo won his ninth gold medal, setting a Winter Games record.
The 29-year-old set off for his fourth gold of the Milan Cortina Olympics in the men’s 4 x 7.5 km relay on Sunday.
She shared the record with three retired Norwegian athletes: cross-country skiers Marit Bjørgen and Bjørn Dahli and biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen.
He now stands alone at the top.
Klebo said after the race, “I like the sound of it! It’s a great title.”
He added, “But to do it together with this group is special. In Norway, winning a relay really matters – and today we all performed well.” “We’ve had a lot of fun here and in training camps all year. It’s been a great season. Today, even though everyone was nervous, there was still a comfortable atmosphere.”
France continued its strong performance to finish second, 22.2 seconds behind, while Italy finished third, 47.9 seconds behind.
Klebo ran an innocent but normal-looking race, slowing down the race to wave to cheering supporters before finishing in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 24.5 seconds.
Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storey was at the stadium in Val di Fiemme, in the Dolomites in northern Italy, standing on his feet cheering when Kleebo crossed the line.
“With today’s team effort, Klebo becomes the best Winter Olympian of all time!” Storey wrote on social media.
He wrote, “It’s fun to be Norwegian in Val di Fiemme today! Congratulations to Emil Iversen, Martin Loevström Nynget, Einar Hedegaart and Johannes Hosflot Klebbo for relay gold.”
Despite the intense rivalry in the competition, fans of Sweden and Norway gathered in the stands and enjoyed the party atmosphere.
Norwegian fan Edmund Høgnes traveled to Italy to watch his team and cheer on his former school classmate Hedegaart, who raced the third freestyle stage for the Norwegians.
“It’s amazing. We’re so happy!” Hoganes said. “We knew we could trust Johannes when he started 12 seconds ahead of France. Johannes is amazing – probably the best cross-country skier of all time.”
The United States missed a strong start and finished sixth behind Finland and Canada. Sweden suffered another setback after a slow start, finishing last in the relay, in 10th place.
Sweden suffered a delay of more than a minute due to a crash on the first leg of the women’s relay on Saturday, but fought back to finish second behind main rival Norway.
Skies remained clear overnight for Sunday’s race, much to the delight of the home crowd. Italy finished with Federico Pellegrino racing in his final season. She celebrated with fans by dancing to Italian pop classics played on the trumpet.
“This is something I’ve been dreaming of for a long time,” Pellegrino said. “I think two years ago, when I started thinking about the home Olympics and saw my teammates rise in level, the dream became a goal and today we achieved it. This is something! Probably the thing I’m most proud of in my career.”
