Johannes Klaebo's Six Golds
A clean sweep at Milano Cortina 2026. At the 2026 Winter Olympics Johannes Hosflot Klaebo won all six men's cross-country races, giving him 11 career golds, the most by any Winter Olympian.
Klaebo racing: Cephas, CC BY-SA 4.0
Trained by his grandfather
Johannes Hosflot Klaebo was born in Oslo and grew up in Trondheim, a city in central Norway where cross-country skiing is part of everyday life. His grandfather, Kare Hosflot, has coached him since childhood, and his father, Haakon, manages his career. Together with his younger brother Ola, Klaebo also runs a popular YouTube channel showing the daily life of an endurance athlete.
He is famous for a running style uphill, almost sprinting on his skis where others shuffle, and for a devastating finishing kick.
The youngest champion
At the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, aged 21, Klaebo won the sprint and became the youngest man ever to win an Olympic cross-country race. He added golds in the team sprint and the relay. He won two more golds at Beijing 2022.
On the World Cup circuit he became the most successful male skier ever. In the 2025-26 season he became the first man to win 100 World Cup races and won the Tour de Ski for a record fifth time.
He has also won 15 World Championship gold medals, second only to Marit Bjorgen.
Six for six
At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy, Klaebo won the skiathlon, the sprint, the 10 kilometres freestyle, the relay with his Norwegian teammates, the team sprint and the 50 kilometres. He won every men's cross-country event on the programme.
That made him the first athlete to win six gold medals at a single Winter Olympics. His career total rose to 11 golds and 13 medals. No Winter Olympian has won more gold, and among all Olympians only swimmer Michael Phelps, with 23, is ahead of him.
The 50 kilometres, the longest and toughest race of the Games, came last, and winning it completed the set.
What makes him special
Cross-country skiing is one of the hardest endurance sports on earth, using every muscle for races that can last more than two hours. Klaebo wins sprints and marathons alike, which is rare. His story also shows the power of a close team: a grandfather's plan, a family's support and years of patient work in the snow outside Trondheim.
His success has made him a superstar in Norway, where cross-country skiing is a national passion and big races draw huge crowds along the trails.
- Klaebo racing: Cephas, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Seefeld, 2019: Granada, CC BY-SA 4.0
Text written by Shining Champion.
