Hometown hero Klaebo completes golden sweep at Nordic world championships

Hometown hero Klaebo completes golden sweep at Nordic world championships

TRONDHEIM, Norway — Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo completed a historic sweep of the cross-country skiing world championships on Saturday, and he did it in his hometown of Trondheim.

Cheered on by around 100,000 fans, the Norwegian great claimed a rare victory in the 50-kilometer mass start freestyle for an unprecedented six for six at the Nordic worlds.

“This is way more than I expected and dreamed of, so it’s unbelievable,” said Klaebo, who slumped against the advertising hoardings after winning his 15th world title with his head bowed and his elbows on his knees.

“I feel like I’ve been working so hard to just be here and be in my best shape and managing that and being able to win six out of six … it’s just crazy.”

Klaebo completed the course in one hour, 57 minutes and 47.1 seconds, beating William Poromaa of Sweden by 2.1 seconds. Simen Hegstad Krueger was third, 8.5 behind his Norwegian compatriot.

The 28-year-old Klaebo, perhaps the greatest cross-country skier of all time, came into the world championships with no victories in the discipline among his five Olympic gold medals and nine world titles.

He was runner-up by one second in 2022 and was disqualified in 2021 after crossing the line first.

“I feel like the crowd really helped me out there,” Klaebo said. “I was struggling on lap three. But I managed to stay on the back of the pack and was helped by the thousands of people out there.

“I feel like I’ve said this every day, but this has been the best day so far. Winning the 50K — I was so close two years ago, disqualified four years ago — it’s been a crazy journey.”

Klaebo kicked off his historic achievement in Trondheim on Feb. 27, anchoring the Norwegian team to gold in the relay. He won the 20km skiathlon two days later, the 10km on Tuesday, and the team sprint on Wednesday.

That last victory saw Klaebo become the most decorated male cross-country skier of all time at the worlds, and he added to that tally on Saturday.