It Was a Lucky Friday the 13th for Cross-Country Star

Friday the 13th will be remembered as a lucky day for Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. Norway's cross-country skiing star tied an all-time Winter Games record by winning his eighth gold medal Friday at the Milan Cortina Olympics. The 29-year-old claimed victory in the men's 10 kilometer interval-start race for his third gold at the 2026 games, the AP reports. With three races still ahead, he now 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 said he has tried to flip the script on superstition about the supposedly ill-fated day, having proposed last year to his girlfriend, Pernille Doesvik, on June 13th—also a Friday. "I think I like Friday the 13th," he said. "It's a good day."

• All the days in this Olympics, so far, have been good for Klaebo. The win was particularly meaningful for Klaebo because he doesn't do as well in a race against the clock when he's not going head-to-head with rivals.
• "This is the distance I've kind of struggled the most with so being able to do that means a lot," he said. "And then it's cool to be up there (in the records) with a lot of great athletes."

• Klaebo 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—an ability that often sets him apart from others. "It was really hard out there today so I'm very proud," he said.
• Klaebo's grandfather, Kare Hoesflot, who helped launch his career, traveled to northern Italy to watch the race, while messages of congratulations poured in from back home, where cross-country skiing is a prime-time sport. "Another show of strength from Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. What a performance in a thriller of a race! Congratulations on gold number three in these Olympics!," Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere wrote on social media.