Johannes Klaebo can he win the 50 km free and achieve the Grand Slam at the World Championships in Trondheim?

Johannes Klaebo can he win the 50 km free and achieve the Grand Slam at the World Championships in Trondheim?

Johannes Klaebo has already won five gold medals at the World Championships in Trondheim. As the victor of the five events he has competed in so far, Klaebo is set to start in the 50 km free race this Saturday, with a unique opportunity to win all events at the World Championships.

He is already known as one of the greatest, and the past ten days have further solidified that reputation. In his hometown of Trondheim, where he learned to ski, Johannes Klaebo is making history in cross-country skiing. Ahead of the last race of the World Championships on Saturday, the double Olympic sprint champion remains undefeated with victories in the classic sprint, team sprint, 10 km classic, skiathlon, and men's relay - a remarkable performance aiming at an extraordinary Grand Slam. "It's incredible and we're talking about a context of impressive competition," explains Robin Duvillard, a former French international. "If he does this, it will be the greatest feat in cross-country skiing history. This is a life event for him; he's from there. He hasn't been preparing for three weeks but instead for three years. It means more than the Olympics for him."

The 50 km race, despite being far from his initial strength, presents Klaebo with a unique challenge. His resume shows that he was born as a sprinter but has now transitioned into a versatile competitor. Klaebo's path to success in distance events took a pivotal turn during the Skiathlon two years ago when he was disqualified after touching Alexander Bolshunov. Although this Saturday's race is the premier distance event, he has shown his capability to excel in it during previous encounters in Oslo.

Fatigue from his previous performances poses a challenge for Klaebo. Nine days will have passed between his sprint victory and the upcoming 50 km race. This short duration correlates to his capability of successfully defending his three gold medals, as Duvillard notes, "... This is where his Grand Slam's main challenge lies. Even if one considers that he has a position to recoup in the relay where he didn't over-exert (leading from start to finish), he still skied faster than the competitors behind him, yet he will still face significant effort in the ski distance."

As for the snow conditions, Klaebo has benefitted from favorable circumstances throughout the World Championships, such as changes in race formats but also scoring paths that have limited gap expansions, restraining attackers from gaining momentum against him. Expecting a similar salting of the track for Saturday’s race would benefit him immensely, as stated by Duvillard, "The hard snow allows him to navigate more easily, and with his perfect placement science, it gives him an advantage." Everyone anticipates his Grand Slam win, which would be a significant boost for the ski community.