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Day four of the Milano Cortina Games, and one question is starting to feel a little rhetorical: how do you stop Johannes Høsflot Klæbo? Short answer – you don’t. You just race for second and hope he smiles at you on the way past.
On Tuesday, the Norwegian cross-country phenomenon did what he has been doing all week: made world-class athletes look as if they were chasing a mirage. Technique? Flawless. Tactics? Ruthless. Power, speed and a hill-climbing gear that seems to defy physics? Check, check and check. Klæbo cruised through the sprint classic rounds, detonated the field on the final climb and skied away with his second gold of these Games and his seventh gold overall, putting him just one shy of the all-time Winter Olympic record.
“I like to go to every race thinking that it’s a race for the win,” said the silver medallist Ben Ogden, who ended the United States’s 50-year medal drought in men’s cross-country skiing at the Olympics. “But these days, a lot of the time it’s a race for second.”
Back in Norway, the praise poured in from fans, politicians and prime-time TV alike. Because when skiing is your national obsession, this is what dominance looks like. “What an athlete!” Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, wrote on social media. “Johannes Høsflot Klæbo is virtually unbeatable in the sprint. Congratulations!”
Where the medals stacked up for the Scandinavians
Sweden managed a 1-2-3 in the women’s event with Linn Svahn winning her first Olympic medal and leading the sweep, edging the defending Olympic champion, Jonna Sundling, with Maja Dahlqvist claiming bronze in a race watched by King Carl XVI Gustaf.
The three Swedish medallists pulled away midway through race, charging uphill after three earlier qualifying rounds to get to the final. It was a second gold for Sweden in cross-country at this Olympics, after Frida Karlsson won gold in the women’s skiathlon. The American Jessie Diggins, the highest-ranked female skier in the world and a medal contender, failed to move past the quarter-finals.
Sweden’s brother-and-sister team of Isabella and Rasmus Wrana won gold in mixed doubles curling, beating Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin of the United States in the final 6-5. The Wranas pounced on an opening left by the Americans in the last end to become champions, enjoying a silent camaraderie with their small contingent of fans. The two remained stoic while Dropkin played to the crowd, whipping up the loud American supporters; one screamed from the rafters, “Show me your biceps!” to which Dropkin obliged.
Italy’s Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner won bronze earlier in the day, defeating Great Britain 5-3. It was bittersweet for the defending Olympic champions whose fans packed the stands throughout the earlier rounds in hopes to see a repeat. For Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat it was even tougher because they finished in the very same position in this event four years ago. “We spoke about how proud we are of making it this far,” said Mouat. “Not many people in the world can say they got to play two Olympics with one of their best friends.”
Heated Rivalries: US draw first blood in Canada feud
The United States and Canada are frequent rivals across all sports but ice hockey has certainly always taken precedence. Since women’s ice hockey debuted at the Games in 1998, Canada and the US have dominated the field, with the former winning five golds and the latter taking two.
The powerhouses went head-to-head at Milano Cortina on Tuesday, with the southern neighbours dominating in a 5-0 cruise, with Hannah Bilka scoring twice. Both teams had already made it to the quarter-finals, but the US will relish in getting the better seeding and bragging rights.
Meanwhile, the rivalry carried over to another sport as the Canadian men’s ice hockey team watched the mixed short track speed skating event from the stands. During the semi-finals, Corinne Stoddard of the United States was fighting for the lead when she crashed before hitting South Korea’s Kim Gil-li. Canada’s Courtney Sarault avoided the collision. After the replay the Canadian broadcast cut to the ice hockey team’s reaction, which was a mix of grimaces and sly smiles.
As it stands
Norway wheeling away now after they double their tally in a single day.
1 🇳🇴 Norway 🥇 6 🥈 2 🥉 4 – Total: 12
2 🇩🇪 Germany 🥇 3 🥈 2 🥉 1 – Total: 6
2 🇸🇪 Sweden 🥇 3 🥈 2 🥉 1 – Total: 6
4 🇨🇭 Switzerland 🥇 3 🥈 1 🥉 1 – Total: 5
5 🇺🇸 United States 🥇 2 🥈 3 🥉 2 – Total: 7
Picture of the day
“I did it for the home crowd. It wasn’t a disrespectful gesture toward my opponents.” Pietro Sighel of Italy celebrates gold by turning toward his oncoming rivals and skating backwards just after crossing the finish line during the mixed short track relay.
Further reading from the Guardian
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Norwegian biathlete wins bronze and then tells TV interview of affair
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Ukraine racer defies IOC ban by wearing ‘helmet of memory’ as anger grows
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Squeaky bum time? How Team GB can save Winter Olympics despite slow start
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Pride and unease: US Olympians navigate politics, patriotism and Trump attacks
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Shiffrin’s Olympics drought continues after slalom slump in team event
What to look out for today
Times are all in local time in Milan and Cortina. For Sydney it is +10 hours, for London it is -1 hour, for New York it is -6 hours and San Francisco it is -9 hours.
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Alpine skiing – 11.30am🥇: it is expected to be a brutal showdown for all the podium spots in the men’s Super-G.
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Nordic combined – 9.10am, 10am, 1.45pm🥇: the competition consists of a ski jump and a 10km cross-country race.
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Biathlon – 2.15pm🥇: France’s Lou Jeanmonnot will aim for her second gold of the Games in the women’s 15km individual.
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Freestyle skiing – 2.15pm🥇: can Jakara Anthony defend her title and nab Australia’s first medal in Milano Cortina?
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Speed skating – 6.30pm🥇: the Dutch men are favourites for the 1000m.
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Luge – 6.53pm🥇, 7.44pm🥇: the women’s and men’s doubles take place.
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Curling – 7.05pm: men’s round robin session begins with GB taking on China.
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Figure skating – 7.30pm🥇: Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson are back in action for the free dance. Can they sneak into the top three?
The last word
Even though I [was] a little bit shy at the beginning, it felt amazing. I didn’t realize the reach my skating had even outside of the figure skating world, and it helped me realize how far I’ve come, how far my skating has brought me – Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté brought the mischievous Minions spirit in the men’s short program. The Spanish skater initially thought he would be unable to skate to the program he had used all season after a music rights dispute.
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