By DEREK GATOPOULOS and BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press
TESERO, Italy (AP) — Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo’s golden run at Milan Cortina continued Wednesday as the Norwegian star secured his fifth gold at the Milan Cortina Olympics — and a record 10th overall — in the men’s team sprint. Klaebo beat back a challenge from the United States to improve on his own record tally, racing with Einar Hedegart to win in 18 minutes, 28.9 seconds. Americans Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher were just 1.4 seconds behind for the silver, while Italy’s Elia Barp and Federico Pellegrino pleased the home crowd and took bronze, 3.3 seconds back.
“It’s obviously very satisfying to make this happen,” the 29-year-old Klaebo said. “The team sprint is one of the most fun events, but also one of the hardest.” Klaebo has won every race he has entered at these Games, breaking the Winter Olympics record in Sunday’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay. His final race will be in the 50-kilometer mass start at the weekend. “There are so many strong teams and so many fast skiers, so it always comes down to tight battles,” Klaebo added. “That makes it even more rewarding.” The U.S. racers fought hard for an upset, with Schumacher slipping back only on the final hill where Klaebo sealed victory.
“Man, we kept the belief and I knew that Gus was not going to let up until the last second. And therefore I couldn’t let up to the last seconds. So it was pretty incredible,” Ogden said.
Mathis Desloges snapped a pole, in a setback for the strong French team that finished 12th.
In the women’s competition, Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist continued Sweden’s winning form.
Switzerland’s Nadja Kaelin and Nadine Faehndrich took silver with Laura Gimmler and Coletta Rydzek of Germany taking the bronze. Norway was edged out to fourth place.
“It is just amazing, so happy and so relieved too,” Dahlqvist said after the Swedes won in 20 minutes, 29.99 seconds. “We have like five, six girls who could do the team sprint today. So we have a really strong team and I’m happy to bring a gold for the whole team.”
Jessie Diggins of the United States pushed the pace early in the race but finished fifth with partner Julia Kern, 11.54 seconds behind Sweden.
During the heats, a dog ran onto the track while the women’s competition took place, running alongside athletes as they crossed the finish line. The incident did not disrupt the racing, and the dog was cheered on by spectators. It later wandered to the finish area, approaching skiers as they completed their runs.
Venue officials said the dog had been taken for a walk by its owner, who lives locally before it escaped into the race course. They had initially thought the incident resulted from a violation of the venue’s strict no‑pets policy for spectators.
___
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics