When Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo crossed the finish line first on Feb. 18, giving this country a victory in the men’s team sprint free event, he certified himself as the Winter Olympics GOAT. Klaebo, 29, won his fifth Olympic gold of these Milano Cortina Games, in five events, and became the first Winter Olympian ever to reach the double-digit mark in career gold medals. Klaebo goes for No. 11, on Saturday, in the 50-km mass start classic.
While prepping for the most prestigious race on the cross-country program, Klaebo took a break to talk to TIME about a wide range of subjects, including how Norway’s youth sports system produces Olympic champions, why he’s not spending much time with his family and fiancée, cross-country memes, and what’s on his bucket list.
[This interview has been condensed for length and clarity]
You’ve won five gold medals during these Winter Olympics, set the new all-time winter record with 10 golds in your Olympic career, and if you win the 50-km mass start classic on Saturday, you’d be the first Winter Olympian to ever win six golds at the same Games. So what’s going through your mind right now?
I’m just trying to let everything sink in a little bit. Really eager to do well on Saturday. So it’s kind of finding the balance, in terms of how much you will enjoy the moment and how much you are trying to prepare yourself for what’s ahead. So far it feels really good. And now, with just one more race to go, it’s going to be nice to wrap it all up.
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So what can you do to enjoy the moments, knowing that you’ve still got work to do?
We have a pretty good team here. So we try to stick together. We are eating long dinners. We have long lunches. When it comes to enjoying it too much, I have my family here and everything and just decided that’s going to be too much. I don’t have time to do everything. Having my girlfriend here as well, it’s…
