Urgent: Norway's Klaebo becomes first athlete to have claimed 9 Winter Olympic titles

TESERO, Italy, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo made history at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, becoming the first athlete to have claimed nine Winter Olympic gold medals.

Norway secured the gold in the men's 4x7.5km cross-country skiing relay on Sunday, crossing the line in one hour 4 minutes and 24.5 seconds, 22.2 seconds clear of silver medalists France.

The 29-year-old Klaebo entered the relay already level with Norwegian greats Bjorn Daehlie, Marit Bjorgen, and Ole Einar Bjorndalen on eight Olympic gold medals. He had reached that mark earlier in Milan-Cortina with victories in the men's 10km+10km skiathlon, sprint, and 10km freestyle, bringing his tally to eight before Sunday's triumph.

Prior to Milan-Cortina, he had won three gold medals at PyeongChang 2018 and two gold medals at Beijing 2022. ■