Norwegian skier Klaebo ties all-time Winter Olympics gold record - ESPN

TESERO, Italy — Friday the 13th will be remembered as a lucky day for Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. Norway's cross-country skiing star won an eighth gold medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Friday, tying the Winter Games record.

The 29‑year‑old claimed victory in the men's 10-kilometer interval‑start race for his third gold at the 2026 Games.

Will three races still ahead of him, Klaebo 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 again gained vital ground on 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 France'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.

«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 first Olympics.

«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