Norway skier becomes 1st athlete to win 6 gold medals at a Winter Games

Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo made history at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on February 21, 2026, by becoming the first athlete to win six gold medals at a single Winter Games, a feat he accomplished with victory in the 50-kilometer mass start race. Klaebo's achievement shattered the nearly 50-year record set by American speed skater Eric Heiden, who won five golds at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. However, it's worth noting that all of Heiden's wins were in individual races, while two of Klaebo's gold medals came in team events, meaning Heiden's record for individual wins still stands. The 29-year-old Norwegian entered the Games with five gold medals already to his name, having won the 4x10km relay, team sprint, individual sprint, 15km skiathlon, and 4x7.5km relay events earlier in the competition. The historic 50km race saw a Norwegian sweep of the podium, with Klaebo's teammates Martin Loewstroem Nyenget taking silver and Emil Iversen claiming bronze. The three Norwegians broke out to an early lead and continued to build their advantage throughout the race. In the final lap, Nyenget and Klaebo pushed uphill and dropped Iversen, with Klaebo strategically staying in second position before launching his characteristic uphill charge in the final stretch. As the two reached the final hill, Klaebo literally ran away from Nyenget, securing his historic sixth gold. As he glided toward the finish line, he pointed his fingers toward the sky, took one final stride across the line, toppled over on his right hip, and rolled onto his back in celebration of his unprecedented achievement. With his six medals at Milan Cortina, Klaebo has now 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, trailing only American swimmer Michael Phelps, who has 23 gold medals. The victory also gave Norway a record 18th gold medal at these Games, further increasing their lead in the total medal count to 40 overall. Norway had already broken its own gold medal record at a single Winter Olympics on Friday when Johannes Dale-Skjevdal won the 15-kilometer mass start biathlon race.