02/10/26 08:33:00
Printable Page
02/10 08:31 CST Klaebo closes on Winter Games record gold tally with another
win, Sweden sweeps women's race
Klaebo closes on Winter Games record gold tally with another win, Sweden sweeps
women's race
By DEREK GATOPOULOS
Associated Press
TESERO, Italy (AP) --- Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo blazed to his second
consecutive victory at the Milan Cortina Games in the cross-country sprint
Tuesday to win his seventh Olympic gold medal and close in on the Winter
Olympics record.
The 29-year-old Norwegian star separated from the field with a punishing late
uphill run to finish in 3 minutes, 39.8 seconds, easing off in the home stretch
to leave Ben Ogden of the United States 0.8 seconds behind. Another Norwegian,
Oskar Opstad Vike, placed third, 6.8 seconds behind the leader.
Linn Svahn led a Swedish sweep in the women's competition, edging defending
Olympic champion Jonna Sundling with Maja Dahlqvist in third place in a race
watched by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
Top-ranked Jessie Diggins of the United States was eliminated in the
quarterfinals, compounding her disappointment after a fall in her opening race
at the weekend.
Klaebo's seven gold medals are one shy of the Winter Olympics record shared by
three athletes. After his latest triumph, the world's top-ranked cross-country
skier acknowledged that some of the pressure he felt at the start of the Games
has now lifted.
"It was amazing," he said. "My shape is good and I was a little bit more
relaxed before this race than I was before Sunday." America's Ben Ogden grabbed
his country's first individual Olympic sprint medal in cross country, but said
it was Klaebo's race to lose.
"Unbelievable, unbelievable. I just can't, I can't put into words. I'm just so
thrilled," the 25-year-old Vermont native said. "I'm proud to be the first in
the sprint but there will be more, don't you worry." Klaebo high-fived and
hugged Norway fans after his race, among them his fianc Pernille Doesvik, who
wore a jacket bearing a large image of the champion skier.
But it was the Swedish fans who had the most to celebrate, singing the national
anthem with their skiers on all three places on the women's podium. "I think I
have the best team and the best teammates," said Sundling, who completed the
sprint 1.5 seconds behind the leader's time of 4 minutes, 3.1 seconds. "I'm
really happy to be a part of the team, our Swedish team," she said. "It's such
a strong team and we always push each other to be better."
___
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
|
