Norwegian cross country ski star Johannes Høsflot Klæbo equalled the record of eight Winter Olympic golds when he sped to victory in the 10 kilometre race on Friday, his third win of the Milan/Cortina Games.
He is targeting an unprecedented six golds at one Winter Olympics and is now halfway there after prevailing as expected in Tesero, although the race was closer than some might have thought.
"It means a lot," said Klæbo, who had never previously won a 10km race in the freestyle technique with an interval start at a World Cup or major championship.
"So being able to do that here at the Olympics, it’s just amazing, and with the weather and the atmosphere, to kind of have my best day here at the Olympics, it’s special."
On being sat in the leader’s chair as opponents threatened his time, he added: "That is the worst part, for sure. When you start early, you just fight with yourself out there, and when you cross the finish line, it’s all about waiting."
The 29-year-old had already won sprint and skiathlon gold here and shows no signs of slowing down, although he did collapse to the snow in exhaustion after crossing the line on Friday in 20 minutes 36.2 seconds.
France's Mathis Desloges took silver, just 4.9 seconds adrift, with Klæbo's finish making all the difference. Norwegian Einar Hedegart, an ex-biathlete, was third.
'Best cross-country skier of all time'
Hedegart said of Klæbo: "I've seen his shape throughout this championships and I knew this was going to be a hard fight, but I definitely know this was the best opportunity for everyone to beat him. He is just at a different level here though.
"This is the first time in his life he beats me (in this discipline), so it's the wrong timing for me, but it is what it is. He's the best cross-country skier of all time."
Klæbo is unbeaten in the sprint at Olympics and world championships since 2019 but is now also an all-rounder, who swept all six golds at last year's worlds from the sprint to the 50 kilometres.
No athlete has ever won six golds at one Winter Games, the record standing at five following US icon Eric Heiden's speed skating sweep in 1980.
With three races still to come, Klæbo moved level on a Winter Olympic record of eight gold medals alongside fellow Norwegians Marit Bjørgen, Bjørn Dæhlie (both cross country) and Ole Einar Bjørndalen (biathlon).
His next event is the relay on Sunday.
"This has been the goal the whole season," Klæbo added. "This is what we’ve trained for, and we’ve put in so many days at (high) altitude to be able to be at our best shape here.
"I feel now that my shape is really good."
It was so warm on Friday that many skiers wore vests baring their arms.
