Johannes Klaebo Wins Cross-Country Individual Sprint Gold Medal at 2018 Olympics
Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo took gold in the men's cross-country skiing individual sprint on Tuesday with a winning time of 3 minutes, 5.75 seconds.
He edged out Italy's Federico Pellegrino, whose time of 3:07.09 earned him silver. Alexander Bolshunov, an Olympic Athlete from Russia, was just 0.02 seconds behind Pellegrino in third.
Klaebo spent much of the race behind Bolshunov, but he produced an explosive finish in the second half to take it comfortably, while Pellegrino's late challenge on the final straight saw him beat the Russian in a photo finish.
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The 21-year-old made history with his win, per Eurosport UK:
Former Norway international footballer Jan Aage Fjortoft celebrated his countryman's victory:
His performance continues Norway's success in the cross-country, after they dominated the podium in the men's 30-kilometre skiathlon and Marit Bjoergen picked up a silver in the women's 15-kilometre skiathlon.
It also marked a significant improvement after Klaebo could only muster a 10th-placed finish in the men's skiathlon.
Klaebo had come second in sprint qualifying, but he topped Quarter-final 1 and Semi-final 1, the latter proving an accurate rehearsal for the final, with Pellegrino and Bolshunov close behind in second and third, respectively.
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