Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo became the first athlete in Winter Olympics history to win nine gold medals, while host Italy added another gold from alpine skiing veteran Federica Brignone at the record-breaking Milan-Cortina Winter Games.
At the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium , the Norwegian quartet clocked 1 hour 4 minutes 24.5 seconds in the men's 4 x 7.5 km relay, finishing 22.2 seconds ahead of the French team, while the Italian team took bronze.
Klaebo cruised to victory on the final stage and took his Olympic gold medal tally to nine, surpassing the previous record of eight held jointly by Norwegian legends Bjorn Daehlie, Marit Bjorgen and Ole Einar Bjorndalen.
Klaebo, 29, won three gold medals at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and two gold medals at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. After winning the skiathlon and two sprint gold medals earlier in the week, Klaebo has now won four gold medals at Milan-Cortina.
"To win a ninth medal with the team is something special and there's no better way to do it," said Klaebo, who described the relay victory as a collective victory for the entire Norwegian squad.
Federica Brignone of Italy in action during the women's giant slalom competition in alpine skiing, Round 1.
On home soil in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Federica Brignone (35) won her second gold medal of the event in the women's giant slalom with a combined time of 2 minutes 13.50 seconds, after leading from the first lap.
Three days earlier, he won gold in the super-G, his first Olympic gold.
Brignone's comeback was all the more significant after she spent nearly 10 months recovering from knee surgery. As she turned to look at the scoreboard in disbelief, silver medalists Sara Hector and Thea Louise Stjernesund bowed in respect from the finish line before embracing the Italian champion, prompting a roar of cheers throughout the arena.
