Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo Nears Gold Medal Record

All right, well, I, uh, I misheard you a little bit when you said the, the most viral, and then I said let's go to cross country because there was also a cross country moment that went super viral and it was, of course, uh, our guy Johannes Clabo, who I think we're just gonna talk about him every day.

I also will say internally, I have begun the campaign already for Johannes.

Clabo to be the 2026 SI Sportsperson of the Year.

I did, I was already in uh our editor in chief Steve Cannella's ear , uh, and let him know, hey, let's get, uh, let's get this cover story ready.

Uh, this guy's just incredible, but then there was this one clip of him, uh, that I saw going all over social media, um, like NBC Olympics pumped it out, um.

And it's basically him like running uphill on skis, uh, in the snow, and I think his top speed, I forget if it was MPH or kilometers, but I think he was going like 10 miles an hour, and people were like comparing that time to like Olympic sprinters who are not going uphill on skis.

Um, but this guy is just incredible, and, uh, we've talked about him, especially in that, uh, the classical style, which is the one where you're like running, uh, straight forward in the parallel grooves.

He just gets to a different gear that nobody else can get to.

And it's like, a lot of us are learning about all these sports, uh, re-familiarizing ourselves maybe four years later.

This is one where the eye test is just so obvious.

You see him and you just go, oh, that guy is the best at this, he is incredible.

Um, so we've, we've talked about it.

He is going for, uh, 6 gold medals in just one single Olympics.

He is now 2 for 2 after today, um.

There was another one where he was ahead by so much that he just like started celebrating really early, um, and so the final margin, if you just look at the times, and actually it was an American who won silver, Ben Ogden, uh, and that is a big story, which we'll get to him in a second, but if you just look at the final times, you go, oh, it was a close race, he almost beat him, he only lost by 800 of a second, but no, because Clavo knew exactly what he was doing, he knew the time and space.

He had and was just, uh, enjoying the moment and uh celebrating with the crowd.

But yeah, Ben Ogden, uh, the, he's the, this is one of the oldest Olympic sports in the Winter Olympics, and the US, he's now only the 2nd US man to win a medal, and it had been 50 years.

And uh he came in and, and picked up a silver.

So that's also a big story and, and good for him.

I had a lot of fun watching this, so this was the, the sprint format.

Um, it's about a 1 mile long course and the, the women were finishing it in about 4 minutes and the men maybe 2025 seconds faster.

So just to give you some perspective, obviously part of that is like downhill, they're not running a 4 minute mile in skis, um, but this was a lot of fun because the races are short, um, and they're back to back, you know, they'll race men and then women and then back to the men.

Um, and it's like a bracket format of knockout, um, so it was a lot of fun.

I tuned in, I think, for the, uh, the semis and, uh, maybe, maybe one of the quarters as well, but, um, you mentioned Ogden, so he was in a semi with Clabo and neck and neck, really keeping pace with him, and I was like, wow, look at, like, like, we've been talking so much about Clabo and how dominant he is, like, wow, look how, look how much, you know, this, this American guy is hanging with him.

And then they get to the hill and then Clabo starts, I swear, I don't know if it's that he actually starts going faster on the hill or it just seems like he is because everyone else is like dropping back so much, but, uh, yeah, Clabo pulls away on the hill, and then uh Ogden, so the way that the format works.

In those semifinals, there's 2 semifinals, and then the top 2 in each semi, they advance to the final, and then the two skiers with the fastest times who weren't in the top 2, then they get in as the lucky, quote unquote lucky loser.

So Ogden's like Clabo passes him, OK, like to be expected, and then, OK, can you hang on now for that second spot?

Uh, this Finnish guy chased him from behind and it was a photo finish.

Ogden loses, uh, comes in 3rd on the photo finish, but snuck in as the lucky loser, and then he gets.

Another chance in the in the final.

And then again, you know, neck and neck with Clabo, but Clabo gets to the hill.

So, as we're talking about, he's a chance for 6 gold medals.

When Clabo gets to a hill, you know, this is when the race really starts.

This is when he pulls away.

It's super fun.

Um, yeah, this was, this was a really fun race.

We should also mention, Uh, you mentioned that, uh, Ogden was the first American man to win in 50 years.

Well, Jessie Diggins, the American woman who's been a, a great Olympian, she, she fell out in the quarters, uh, the quarterfinal race, she failed to advance, and it came out later, she's dealing with bruised ribs after that crash we saw her suffer in the very first Olympic race of these Olympics.

So a big storyline to watch there.

All right, quick shout out to one of my favorite things in my closet right now, Cozy Earth.

First off, their bamboo pajamas, ridiculous.

These are hands down the softest pants I own, like unbelievably soft.

I wear them when I'm working from home, running errands, even just lounging on the couch.

They somehow feel cozy without being too warm, and they actually look good enough to leave the house in, which is rare for pajamas.

Whether it's for someone special or just for yourself, Cozy Earth makes it easy to bring comfort and care into your everyday life.

This Valentine's Day season, we are offering a buy one, get one pajama deal you won't see any other time of the year.

Share a little extra love this February and wrap yourself or someone you care about in comfort that truly feels special.

Head to cozyEarth.

com and use my code Daily Rings BOGO, Daily Rings B O G O for up to 20% off.

And if you get a post-purchase survey, be sure to mention you heard about Cozy Earth right here.

Celebrate everyday love with comfort that makes the little moments count.

Yeah, that was surprising cause we actually um talked about that crash when it happened, that it was, it was more like in front of her and she didn't go down, so I guess I don't know that I saw like a clear um replay of it, but uh I didn't think she was actually affected, but obviously, you know, clearly she was.

Um, yeah, so you, you mentioned, um, seeing the semis or maybe the quarters.

I, uh, I think.

Who even remembers what time it was?

I think that, I think I, I tuned into the quarters at, I think that was at like 5:30 this morning, Eastern time where we both are.

Um, but one thing that, uh, was really, uh, jarring to me is that the times in the quarterfinals were like 20 seconds slower than the times in the, uh, the first round of the heats.

And it's just like a grueling.

Exhausting day because they did this whole bracket in one day.

And so, uh, all the competitors who were in the final match went 4 times today, which is like 4 miles of cross-country skiing, and we've talked about this being one of those exhausting sports where when they finish, they, you can see how wiped out they are.

Um, but it's just like a marathon day.

And, uh, then the other exciting thing was that, um, the, uh, women's final, it was a podium sweep for Sweden.

Uh, so they, uh, I also saw this, that Sweden won all 6 women's gold medals at the most recent, uh, world championships, uh, also won gold in the skiathlon, which was the first event, so Sweden is off to an incredible start, and that was really cool seeing them come down the last home stretch of the course is like a big straightaway where they've got a ton of stands .

So you see them finish and you see all the fans there, um.

And there were like people running with Swedish flags, like, so on the background, um, like over the rail while the three Swedes were coming in and then they had like a team, a very excited team huddle, uh, after they crossed the line.

That's just like such a cool moment seeing a podium sweep like that.

So yeah, the, the Sweden women have just.

been dominant and, uh, and they lived up to it today.

Um, Julia Kerr, we should say, was the American.

We thought Jessie Diggins would be the person we were talking about.

She got into the final as a lucky loser, I believe.

So it did not come away with a medal, but an impressive showing for her, um, getting into that final race.

Yeah, the, the, the Swedes, I was, I was having a lot of fun watching them.

They're fantastic.

I also got a kick out of the, the woman who won the gold.

Her name was Lynn Swan, which is like, you know, so close to the NFL Hall of Famer, Lynn Swan.

And then, yeah, then in the, in the silver, then you had Hans Ward and Bjorn Roethlisberger won the won the bronze.

So, uh, no, I, I the silver was a, Was Yoda Sundering and the bronze was Maya Dahlquist, but I just couldn't, couldn't pass up that.

Yeah, it's good, yeah, and the Steelers will probably play in Sweden next year at the rate the NFL is expanding in Europe also.

Um, any other thoughts on cross country or should we move to, uh, I brought up a short track earlier.

Should we dive into the short track?

Yeah, OK, so the, uh, The short track was interesting.

The big viral moment there that I talked about, so I'll say today was the um the mixed relay, which is just like a frantic event.

All of the relays are, um, but this is like, they, uh, you expect to see the teams like skating around the track, duh, you know, short track speed skating.

But what's interesting is the relay partners who are like next in line are also like skating circles around the inside of the track, so constantly you're seeing like multiple people on every team in motion.

And then when the new person subs in, they give them like a, a shove on the back.

It looks like a little tu push that just like rockets them ahead.

Um, but the, the funny moment that I mentioned is there was this guy, um, Pietro Sigel from Italy, uh, and we've talked about how impressive.

Italy has been as the host country.

They've been racking up medals all week.

So, Team Italy wins this, and this guy basically turns around at the finish line.

People are comparing it to the viral photo of Usain Bolt, uh, from 2016 in Rio and he's like turning his head and smiling.

There are some unbelievable photos of this guy, where he is fully turned around and all three of the other competitors in the race are facing him, and everyone's just looking at him like, look at this guy, and he even, he had to come out afterward and say like, oh, I wasn't trying to be disrespectful, I was just trying to hype up the crowd, and like, good for him, like, hype up the crowd, absolutely, especially on your home ice there, um, but just like an unbelievable moment.

It was a chaotic day.

We talked earlier this week about how there are gonna be crashes.

There were crashes involving Team USA, uh, had a couple of wipeouts and didn't make it to the final.

Um, so it's just like a complicated sport.

I think you shared that old story about how like the best team does not always win, but, uh, here the, the host nation had a very exciting day and capped it off with a viral moment that I will definitely remember.

Well, we talk about viral moments upstaging greatness that happened over here with Italy and the backwards guy and, uh, Ariana Fontana.

Uh, she is, she's, yeah, she's 35.

She became the oldest woman to win a short track medal.

It's her 3rd career goal and 12th medal overall, it's the most in short track history.

Um, there's only two women, a Dutch long track speed skater named Irene Woost and Norwegian cross country skier Marie Bjorgen, who have more.

So she's, um, and she's got a chance.

I think she has another 1 or 2 events coming up in these Olympics, so a chance to add to that total.