Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo Leads Norway to Record Olympic Medal Haul

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won his sixth gold in the men’s 50-kilometer mass start at the Milan-Cortina Games, and Norway finished the Olympics with a record 40 medals, 18 of them gold, with events still to go before the closing ceremony. Spectators gathered at a mountain lodge outside Oslo watched the race in tense silence and applauded cautiously when Klaebo crossed the line.

"That’s the only place where we really get the chance to shine," said Bjorn Saltvik, who rushed home on his own skis after Team Norway finished. The triumph provided a respite from recent scandals that have put Norway in the spotlight: U.S. Justice Department files showed ties between Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Jeffrey Epstein, a royal family member faced a rape trial, and former prime minister Thorbjorn Jagland was charged with "gross corruption," prompting public outrage in a country that prizes humility.

Norway, Oslo

klaebo, 50-kilometer, mass start, milan-cortina, norway, winter olympics, 40 medals, mette-marit, jeffrey epstein, thorbjorn jagland