Johannes Klæbo of Norway secured the gold medal in the men’s cross-country sprint at the Milan-Cortina Olympic Winter Games, continuing his dominance in the event. The victory marks Klæbo’s second gold medal of these Games, having previously triumphed in the 20km skiathlon.
Klæbo finished the final sprint in 3 minutes and 39.74 seconds. Silver medalist Ben Ogden of the United States trailed by 0.87 seconds, even as fellow Norwegian Oskar Opstad Vikke took bronze, finishing 6.81 seconds behind the leader.
In the women’s competition, Jonna Sundling of Sweden claimed the silver medal in the 1.5-kilometer classic style sprint. Sundling, a previous Olympic champion in the event, finished behind the gold medalist. Bronze went to another Swedish athlete, Maja Dalkvist, the 2022 Olympic silver medalist.
“Sundling completed the final sprint in 4 minutes and 3.05 seconds, with Sundling 1.59 seconds back and Dalkvist 4.83 seconds behind,” officials reported.
Klæbo’s win extends his impressive Olympic record; he previously won the sprint event at the 2018 and 2022 Olympic Games, bringing his total Olympic gold medal count to seven.
Latvian cross-country skiers did not advance past the qualification rounds. Raimo Vīgants finished 52nd in the men’s competition, followed by Lauris Kaparkalējs in 57th place and Niks Saulītis in 77th. On the women’s side, Kitija Auziņa placed 70th in the sprint qualification, Samanta Krampe was 76th, and Linda Kaparkalēja finished 82nd.
The Milan-Cortina Olympic Winter Games will continue through February 22nd.
