Johannes Høsflot Klæbo
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Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (born 22 October 1996) is a Norwegian
cross-country skier Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...
who represents
Byåsen IL Byåsen Idrettslag is a multi-sport club from Trondheim, Norway. It has sections for association football (one for elite, one for women's and one for grassroots football), athletics, handball (one for elite and one for grassroots handball), ori ...
. He holds multiple records, most notably for being the youngest male in history to win the FIS Cross-Country World Cup, the
Tour de Ski Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed b ...
, a World Championship event, and an Olympic event in cross-country skiing. During the 2019–2020 World Cup season, Klæbo became the most successful male sprinter in World Cup history in terms of individual race victories and set a new record for the most overall sprint titles, with 4. He is currently the most successful male overall race winner in the competition's history. Klæbo won three gold medals at the
2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...
, in his debut Olympic appearance.


Athletic career


2015–16: World Cup debut

Klæbo made his debut in the World Cup in the 2015–16 season in the classic sprint in Drammen, Norway on 3 February 2016. He finished 15th in the race.


2016–17: Breakthrough season

In the following 2016–17 season, Klæbo achieved his first World Cup podium after finishing third in the classic sprint in
Ruka Ruka may refer to: ;People: *, Japanese actress *, Japanese football player *, Japanese snowboarder *, Japanese professional footballer ;Other: * Ruka (Okage), a fictional character * Rukatunturi (Finnish: Ruka), a ski resort in Finland * Ruka So ...
, Finland, on 26 November 2016. Later in the 2016–17 season, on 18 February 2017, Klæbo got his first World Cup victory when he won the sprint freestyle in Otepää, Estonia. He competed at the
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2017 The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2017 was the 40th World Championships in nordic skiing and took place in Lahti, Finland from 22 February to 5 March 2017.
in
Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...
, Finland, winning a bronze medal at the Men's sprint competition. On 17 March 2017 in Quebec City he won his first small crystal globe in the Sprint World Cup and also won the Helvetia U23 overall ranking after winning the end-of-season mini tour. He finished his second World Cup season with three victories.


2017–18: Olympic success and World Cup overall

Klæbo participated in his first Olympics at the
2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...
in
PyeongChang Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...
, South Korea. Before the Olympics, he had nine victories in the 2017–18 World Cup. He made his Olympic debut by finishing 10th in the men's skiathlon event. On 13 February 2018 he became an Olympic champion after winning the men's sprint. This victory made him the youngest ever male to win an Olympic event in cross-country skiing. He skied the last leg on the Norwegian teams that won both the 4 × 10-kilometre relay and the men's team sprint. A steep hill on the Olympic course was dubbed "Klæbo-bakken" ("Klæbo hill") by Norwegian media after Klæbo overtook his competitors several times in this climb throughout the games. With three gold medals, he tied with French biathlete
Martin Fourcade Martin Fourcade (; born 14 September 1988) is a French biathlete and sous-lieutenant. He is a five-time Olympic champion, a thirteen-time World Champion and a seven-time winner of the Overall World Cup. As of February 2018, he is the most succes ...
for most gold medals won in the games. Klæbo won the overall 2017–18 World Cup with a gap of 119 points down to
Dario Cologna Dario Cologna (born 11 March 1986) is a Swiss cross-country skier. He has four overall World Cup victories, four Olympic gold medals, one World Championships gold medal and four Tour de Ski victories in his career. On 3 November 2021, he announc ...
, making him the youngest ever winner of the World Cup. He also beat the record for the most sprint victories in a single World Cup season, with seven wins.


2018–19: Tour de Ski, World Championships, and second World Cup overall

Klæbo won the
2018–19 Tour de Ski The 2018–19 Tour de Ski was the 13th edition of the Tour de Ski and part of the 2018–19 FIS Cross-Country World Cup. The World Cup stage event began in Toblach, Italy on 29 December 2018 and concluded with the Final Climb stage in Val di Fiemm ...
in his first appearance in the Tour. 22 years and 76 days old, he became the youngest skier to win the overall
Tour de Ski Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed b ...
. Klæbo won three gold medals at the 2019 World Championships in Seefeld in Tirol, Austria. He started the championships with a World Championship title in the individual sprint. By winning the sprint, Klæbo became the youngest male winner of a World Championship race in cross-country skiing. He finished 30th in the
skiathlon Competitive cross-country skiing encompasses a variety of race formats and course lengths. Rules of cross-country skiing are sanctioned by the International Ski Federation and by various national organizations. International competitions incl ...
after not keeping up at the classic part of the race. The result at the skiatlon made Klæbo give away his spot at the 15-kilometre classic to
Sjur Røthe Sjur Røthe (born 2 July 1988) is a Norwegian cross-country skier. He is a three-time World champion. Career He made his World Cup debut in March 2009 in Trondheim, but did not finish the race, and collected his first World Cup points in Novembe ...
. Together with
Emil Iversen Emil Iversen (born 12 August 1991) is a Norwegian Cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skier who represents IL Varden. He is 2019 World Champion in team sprint and 4 × 10 km relay. Athletic career ;2010/11 Iversen was junior world champi ...
, Klæbo won the team sprint after beating Russia's
Alexander Bolshunov Alexander Alexandrovich Bolshunov (russian: Александр Александрович Большунов, also '' tr.'' Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bolshunov; born 31 December 1996) is a Russian cross-country skier and two-time winner of the ...
in the last stages of the final leg. On 1 March, Klæbo raced the 4th leg on Norway's team who won the 4 × 10-kilometre relay on the second-to-last event of the championships. Klæbo won the overall 2018–19 World Cup and extended his own record of most sprint victories in a single World Cup season, with eight wins. He also leveled
Emil Jönsson Emil Jönsson Haag (born 15 August 1985) is a Swedish retired cross-country skier who competed between 2004 and 2018. Career At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he finished seventh in the individual sprint event. He has twelve World Cup ...
's all-time World Cup record of most sprint victories, with 16 wins, and tied with
Emil Jönsson Emil Jönsson Haag (born 15 August 1985) is a Swedish retired cross-country skier who competed between 2004 and 2018. Career At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he finished seventh in the individual sprint event. He has twelve World Cup ...
and
Ola Vigen Hattestad Ola Vigen Hattestad (born 19 April 1982) is a former Norwegian cross-country skier who competed from 2002 through 2018. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he became Olympic champion in the individual sprint event at Sochi in 2014. Career Hattes ...
for the most overall sprint titles, with 3.


2019–20: Hand injury and fourth World Cup sprint title

After a shorter season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a hand injury resulting in a short absence from competing, Klæbo placed second overall in the 2019–20 World Cup. He also placed third in the
2019–20 Tour de Ski The 2019–20 Tour de Ski was the 14th edition of the Tour de Ski and part of the 2019–20 FIS Cross-Country World Cup. The World Cup stage event began in Lenzerheide, Switzerland on 28 December 2019 and concluded with the Final Climb stage in Val ...
and achieved his best end-of-season ranking in the distance discipline, placing sixth. Klæbo also won his fourth overall sprint title, thereby setting the record for most overall sprint titles in history. He also overtook
Emil Jönsson Emil Jönsson Haag (born 15 August 1985) is a Swedish retired cross-country skier who competed between 2004 and 2018. Career At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he finished seventh in the individual sprint event. He has twelve World Cup ...
's all-time World Cup record of most individual sprint victories, extending his own record to 24. In June 2020, Klæbo announced that he had signed a five-year contract with the , fitting in cycle training and racing around his skiing commitments.


2020–21: Pandemic-disrupted World Cup and World Championship success

Klæbo enjoyed a strong start to the 2020–21 season at the
Nordic Opening The Nordic Opening is a cross-country skiing event held annually since the 2010–11 season in Ruka, Finland or Lillehammer, Norway. The Nordic Opening is a Stage World Cup event in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup, and are held as the first or se ...
in Ruka, taking second in the opening sprint competition before winning the 15 km classic and clinching the Ruka Triple overall after the pursuit. However, the next World Cup stop on home snow in Lillehammer was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the race programme of Klæbo and his team-mates was further disrupted after the Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish teams elected not to compete in the subsequent World Cup rounds in December due to concerns regarding the risks of the pandemic and then also withdrew from the
Tour de Ski Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed b ...
after the three Nordic nations' request for the race to be shortened were refused by the International Ski Federation. Whilst the rest of the Norwegian team returned to the World Cup circuit at the first post-Tour meeting in Lahti, Klæbo elected to return at the next round in Falun at the end of January. In Falun he finished second in the 15 km classic mass start, being pipped in the final sprint by Bolshunov, before taking the win in the classic sprint. At the World Championships in Oberstdorf, Klæbo started his campaign by successfully defending his title in the
sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...
, leading home team-mates Erik Valnes and
Håvard Solås Taugbøl Håvard Solås Taugbøl (born 20 August 1993) is a Norwegian cross-country skier. He competed in four events at the 2011 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, then three events at both the 2012 and 2013 Junior World Championships, winning a ...
in a clean sweep of the podium positions for Norway, becoming the first man to win consecutive sprint world titles and the second skier overall, after fellow Norwegian Marit Bjørgen. He took his second gold medal of the championships in the team sprint alongside Valnes, overcoming a 4.3 second deficit going into the final lap of the race and attacking on the final climb to secure the win by 1.68 seconds. Klæbo secured another gold in the relay, where he took the anchor leg after team-mates Pål Golberg, Hans Christer Holund and Emil Iversen, holding off Bolshunov for the win. However, he missed out on a fourth title at the worlds when he was disqualified in the 50 km classic after being first to cross the finish line, as he was judged to have obstructed Bolshunov in the final sprint, handing the victory to team-mate Iversen. At the last meeting of the World Cup season in Engadin, Klæbo finished second in the 15 km behind Bolshunov and fourth in the 50 km freestyle pursuit. He finished third in the season's overall World Cup standings. He was awarded the Holmenkollen Medal in 2022.


Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).


Olympic Games

*7 medals – (5 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) Distance reduced to 30 km due to weather conditions.


World Championships

*7 medals – (6 gold, 1 bronze)


World Cup


Season titles

* 10 titles – (3 overall, 4 sprint, 3 U23)


Season standings


Individual podiums

*60 victories – (34 , 26 ) *80 podiums – (49 , 31 )


Team podiums

* 3 victories – (2 , 1 ) * 3 podiums – (2 , 1 )


Personal life

Klæbo was born in Oslo, the capital of Norway. He lived there until he was five years old before he and his family moved to Trondheim. He grew up there and still lives there today. Klæbo is very close to his family and spends a lot of time with them. His father, Haakon Klæbo, is his manager and his grandfather, Kåre Høsflot, is his coach. Outside sports, Klæbo and his younger brother, Ola, run a YouTube channel where they upload weekly vlogs about Klæbo's everyday life as an athlete. He started his channel because he wanted people to see what cross-country skiers do outside competitions and off-season. His siblings help him out by editing and translating the videos. As of October 2019, Klæbo has over 102,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel and totals over 12 million views from over 100 videos. He was a part of Norway's elite sprint team until mid-2019, when he became a part of Norway's men's elite allround team. He switched back to the elite sprint team before the
2020–21 FIS Cross-Country World Cup The 2020–21 FIS Cross-Country World Cup was the 40th official FIS Cross-Country World Cup, World Cup season in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing for men and women. The season began with the Nordic Opening stage event on 27–29 ...
season. Klæbo was given a non-custodial prison sentence of 16 days and a fine of NOK 10,000 by Sør-Trøndelag district court on 5 March 2019, following a road traffic accident on 12 December 2018, where he collided with a stationary car at a pedestrian crossing.


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Klaebo, Johannes Hosflot 1996 births Living people Sportspeople from Trondheim Norwegian male cross-country skiers FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in cross-country skiing FIS Cross-Country World Cup champions Cross-country skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic cross-country skiers of Norway Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Norway Olympic silver medalists for Norway Olympic bronze medalists for Norway Olympic medalists in cross-country skiing Tour de Ski skiers Tour de Ski winners