Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo competes in the men’s 10K race on Friday during the FIS Cross-Country World Cup final at Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Parker O'Brien)

LAKE PLACID — Sitting out at a table in Utah a couple of years ago were Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo and 1980 Olympic legend Eric Heiden.

The two men shared a total of 10 Olympic gold medals at that point, with both of them possessing five each. But Heiden still had a bit of an edge on him.

The American speedskater, who is now a surgeon, famously won all his events at one Olympics – the Lake Placid Games – which is the most by one athlete at any single Winter Olympics. It’s a record that some deemed impossible to replicate again.

Even Klaebo, a cross-country skier who won his five across two Olympics, never thought it was tangible, despite Nordic skiing having six Olympic events.

But the Norwegian proved it was in February, when he swept the men’s cross-country skiing races at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. (Enterprise photo — Parker O'Brien)

“For me to be able to do that in the Olympics, it was something special,” Klaebo said, with a smile on Friday.

The 29-year-old is now often referred to as the “Greatest of All-Time” – more commonly shortened to the “GOAT” – Winter Olympian. He holds 13 Olympic gold medals, trailing only swimmer Michael Phelps’ 23 for the most all-time gold medals at either edition of the Olympics.

But this past weekend, he was in the village – where Heiden won all five of his gold medals – for the FIS Cross-Country World Cup final. Of course, Klaebo put on a show in Lake Placid, as well as winning the races he competed in – the 10K interval start classic on Friday, and the 20K mass start on Sunday.

He also collected a plethora of yearly awards – the Crystal Globes – as he swept the season’s overall, sprint and distance titles, which he jokingly described as “overweight.”

But is it really that much of a joke? Klaebo has won more than half of the World Cup races he’s competed in, and is the only person to have ever won more than 100 of those events.

Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo leads the 20K mass start race during the FIS Cross-Country World Cup final on Sunday at Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Parker O'Brien)

As some “GOAT” chants were heard amongst the mass of thousands of spectators at the Lake Placid World Cup, Klaebo just said it’s a privilege to be where he is.

“When I was younger, my dream was to win a World Cup race,” Klaebo said. “That was kind of what I chased for and now I don’t know how many (I’ve won), you know? So it’s been a crazy journey.”

But those indulged in the sport aren’t as shocked.

Klaebo has revolutionized cross-country skiing with his own technique called the “Klaebo run,” where he hangs back for most of the race – either in third or fourth – then bursts uphill, leaving competitors out of contention.

It’s a technique he learned from his coach … who just so happens to be his 83-year-old grandfather, Kare, who is often described as his secret weapon. Klaebo said he still puts out training plans and works with him on his technique.

Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo fields questions from local reporters on Friday after competing in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup final men’s 10K race at Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Parker O'Brien)

“He’s 83 years old, and he is still quite innovative,” Klaebo said. “He’s trying to learn from the younger generations and is really open-minded to learning new things. I think that’s been kind of the success.”

Klaebo’s dominance in the sport has made him a star. And, it’s not just in Europe. This past weekend, young American children were calling his name, often asking for pictures. Klaebo said he was a little shocked to see how many people in the U.S. care about a Norwegian skier.

“I think I’m not speaking only for myself when I said that I think we should have had a World Cup every single year in the U.S,” he said. “We all remember how beautiful it was in Minneapolis a couple of years ago. We see here how amazing it is. So hopefully that’s something we can continue to do in the future.”

Klaebo seems to love the United States. He trains in Utah, something he’s done for the past four years. He does it there for the high-altitude, ideal terrain and to escape some of the stardom he faces in Norway. And he seemingly has no intentions of switching up his training spot.

“I really fell in love with the place,” he said. “I think Utah is the place I will continue to travel to, and I still have plans to go there in August again.”

But as the season officially wrapped up on Sunday in Lake Placid, Klaebo said he’s looking forward to an actual stress-free weekend.

“It’s been like racing every single weekend and going from place to place, just gonna have a couple of days where I’m really just gonna relax,” he said. “That’s something I’m looking forward to.”

Klaebo does have his eyes on competing in the 2026-27 season, but he noted that he’ll likely have to take some time to figure out some new goals or ways to improve on a near-perfect season to motivate himself.

“I guess the good part is that I like winning ski races,” he said. “I will hopefully continue to do that, but I’ll need to find a way to motivate myself, and it can be just by changing a little bit small things when it comes to the training part. I think that can be an important part of the motivation.”

Luckily for him, the FIS Cross-Country World Championship is in Falun, Sweden. And Norway and Sweden have a rivalry when it comes to Nordic skiing.

“(That) has always been important,” he said. “Winning on home soil is always special, but winning away is pretty cool as well. So I guess just knowing that we’re gonna race there next year, it’s gonna be a lot of motivation by itself.”