Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo becomes 1st athlete to win 6 gold medals at a Winter Games

Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo continued his historic run at the Milan Cortina Games by setting the record for most golds by one athlete in a single Winter Olympics.

Klaebo’s victory in the 50-kilometer mass start race shattered the nearly 50-year record set by American speed skater Eric Heiden, who won five golds at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. However, all of Heiden’s wins were in individual races and two of Klaebo’s have come in team events, so Heiden’s record for individual wins still stands.

Klaebo’s teammates, Martin Loewstroem Nyenget, took silver, and Emil Iversen, won bronze in a Norwegian sweep.

The three Norwegians broke out to an early lead and then continued to build the gap on their chasers.

In the final lap, Nyenget and Klaebo pushed uphill and dropped Iversen. Klaebo stayed in second, waiting to launch his textbook charge uphill.

As the two reached the final hill, Klaebo literally ran away from Nyenget and was bound for glory.

As he glided toward the finish, he pointed his fingers toward the sky, took one stride across the line, toppled over on his right hip and rolled onto his back.

The 29-year-old entered the Games with five gold medals to his name. With his six medals at Milan Cortina, he has broken and extended the previous record of eight for most career Winter Olympic gold medals.

He is now the second-most decorated gold medalist in Olympic history after American Michael Phelps, who has 23.

The win gave Norway a record 18th gold medal and further increased their lead in the total medal count in these games to 40 overall.

Team Norway broke its own gold medal record at a single Winter Olympics on Friday when Johannes Dale-Skjevdal won the 15-kilometer mass start biathlon race.