By DEREK GATOPOULOS and BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press
TESERO, Italy (AP) — Friday the 13th will be remembered as a lucky day for Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. Norway’s cross-country skiing star tied an all‑time Winter Games record by winning his eighth gold medal Friday at the Milan Cortina Olympics. The 29‑year‑old claimed victory in the men’s 10 kilometer interval‑start race, for his third gold at the 2026 games.
With three races still ahead, he now shares the record with three other Norwegian athletes who have all retired: Marit Bjoergen and Bjoern Daehlie in cross-country skiing and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen in the biathlon.
Klaebo said he has tried to flip the script on superstition about the supposedly ill-fated day, having proposed last year to his girlfriend, Pernille Doesvik, on June 13th — also a Friday.
“I think I like Friday the 13th,” he said. “It’s a good day.”
All the days in this Olympics, so far, have been good for Klaebo.
The win was particularly meaningful for Klaebo because he doesn’t do as well in a race against the clock when he’s not going head-to-head with rivals.
“This is the distance I’ve kind of struggled the most with so being able to do that means a lot,” he said. “And then it’s cool to be up there (in the records) with a lot of great athletes.” Klaebo again gained vital ground in the final hill and clocked 20 minutes, 36.2 seconds, showing rare signs of fatigue as he collapsed at the finish line of the race considered to be his toughest challenge.
He was 4.9 seconds head of Frances’s Mathis Desloges and 14 in front of his main challenger Einar Hedegart also of Norway who lost momentum on the last hill.
“It’s a special day,” Klaebo said. “This one means a lot for sure … I’m lost for words.”
The Norwegian said he was happy with his tactics, racing the first half of the course with a controlled pace, saving energy for a burst up the last hill and home stretch — an ability that often sets him apart from others.
“It was really hard out there today so I’m very proud,” he said.
Over at the French camp, athletes and team officials celebrated as if they had won the race, linking arms and dancing on the snow after underdog Desloges won his second silver medal in his Olympics debut. “I trained incredibly hard for these races,” Desloges said. “I told people I was at this level — and now we are delivering.” The 23-year-old Frenchman, like many other top racers in the interval start, was mostly unaware of his position during the race.
“I don’t really pay attention to what’s being shouted from the sidelines,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t listen to them. I just focus on my race. I know what I have to do and I give it everything.” On a blue-sky day in northern Italy, with the race track surrounded by the snow-capped Dolomite mountains, temperatures hovered around 5 degrees Celsius (41 Fahrenheit). A few racers chose to compete wearing only their race bibs.
Organizers had treated the course with salt Thursday to harden the surface but left it untouched Friday — a decision that favored Klaebo, who started early among the seeded skiers. Celebrations were led by Norwegian fans: national flags — red with a blue cross outlined in white — were draped over athletes and the railing on the spectators’ area. Klaebo’s grandfather, Kare Hoesflot, who helped launch his career traveled to northern Italy to watch the race, while messages of congratulations poured in from back home, where cross-country skiing is a prime time sport.
“Another show of strength from Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. What a performance in a thriller of a race! Congratulations on gold number three in these Olympics!,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere wrote on social media. Finn Dahl, a retired marketing manager from Norway, was dressed in a white suit covered in Norwegian flags and the motto, “The Viking is back” emblazoned on the front pocket as he watched Klaebo win. He credited Klaebo’s success to relentless hard work.
“He’s so dedicated. He sacrificed everything in terms of training, how he eats, how he sleeps and calms down after races,” he said.
“It’s fantastic … he’s up to eight now,” Dahl said. “I hope he’ll be the biggest winner ever. ” —-
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics