Olympic competitions in skiing and snow sports rarely produce so many historically significant performances within a single Games. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won every event he entered, Franjo von Allmen claimed three gold medals, and Federica Brignone returned to the top after a serious injury. Below, we highlight eight performances that will be remembered for years to come.
1. Perfect dominance: Klæbo and the unrepeatable streak
The question arises: will we ever see such dominance again? In itself, it is an exceptional achievement that Klæbo won all six events at the Olympics, securing six gold medals. The historical significance, however, lies in the fact that at last year’s World Championships he also won every single race. To display complete dominance at two consecutive major championships is unprecedented not only in cross-country skiing but in the entire history of Nordic skiing disciplines.
Moreover, he did it under different competitive conditions: the events held in classical style at the World Championships were contested in freestyle at the Olympics, and vice versa. The 50-kilometre race and the sprint, for example, were freestyle last year and classical this year. This means Klæbo did not dominate in just one technical specialty, but across the full spectrum of styles.
With his six Olympic gold medals alone, he would have finished inside the top ten of the medal table by himself. The real question now is where the upper limit of his career lies – and whether anyone in the next decade or decades will be able to approach his total of 11 Olympic gold medals.
2. The unexpected triple champion: Franjo von Allmen’s breakthrough
The Swiss skier had not been having a poor season; he had won two downhill races and recorded several podium finishes, including in Super-G. Despite that, he was not considered the main favorite in any event. In downhill, however, he proved unbeatable – neither Marco Odermatt nor the home athletes could surpass him. An even bigger surprise followed when he also won the Super-G, a discipline in which he had only one World Cup victory in his career.
In the team combined, he finished fourth in the downhill portion, but his teammate Tanguy Nef delivered an outstanding performance afterward, allowing them to finish on top and secure his third gold medal. The last skier to achieve a triple gold at a single Olympics was Janica Kostelić in 2002.
3. From injury to the top: Brignone’s remarkable comeback
At the end of last season, she suffered a severe injury at a national championship, and doctors gave her very little chance of competing at the Olympics. Federica Brignone prepared with determination, but she was only able to compete in two races before the Games, finishing 18th and 6th.
In her first Olympic event, the downhill, she placed 10th. Then came the Super-G and the giant slalom, where she proved unbeatable, becoming the most successful Italian female skier in history. At 35 years old, the question is what goals remain for her – but if she decides to retire at the end of the season, she will do so on a remarkable high.
4. Changing nations and winning Olympic gold: Braathen’s story
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen was born in Norway and competed for the Norwegian national team until October 2023. After a dispute with the federation, he chose to retire, but in 2024 he announced that, through his mother, he would compete for Brazil.
Braathen never liked being constrained; representing Brazil gave him the freedom he sought, and he made the most of it. Last November he won a World Cup race, and now he has reached the top at the Olympics as well. With this, Braathen secured not only Brazil’s but all of South America’s first Winter Olympic medal.
5. Swedish golden rush in women’s cross-country skiing
Sweden has never been this dominant in women’s cross-country skiing. They won five of the six events and collected ten medals in total. The Swedish team had a serious chance to win every event, but after Ebba Andersson crashed twice during the relay, they were unable to catch the Norwegian team.
In the classical individual sprint, the entire podium was Swedish. The team is not considered old, so they could be strong contenders again in four years. The big question is how their great rivals, the Norwegians, will respond.
6. Jens Lurås Oftebro’s triple triumph
The Norwegian may have just experienced the most successful weeks of his career, winning both the normal hill and large hill individual events in close contests. In the team event, the Norwegians also proved unbeatable, thanks in part to Oftebro’s exceptionally strong finishing leg.
He became the first athlete in 24 years to achieve an individual double in the sport. Repeating this in four years’ time will be a significant challenge.
7. The new generation of the Prevc family
One of the most successful ski jumping families is the Prevc family. Peter Prevc has already retired, while Cene Prevc, an Olympic silver medalist four years ago, is also no longer competing. This time, it was up to Nika and Domen Prevc to deliver Olympic medals.
Based on the ski jumping season, they were serious contenders, as both led the overall standings in the women’s and men’s competitions. Nika and Domen Prevc had won more than half of the World Cup events held during the season. At the Olympics, however, that dominance did not fully materialize. They won the mixed team event, but in the individual competitions only Domen managed to claim one gold. Nika secured one silver and one bronze medal.They have plenty of time to win more titles, as Nika is only 20 and Domen 26 years old.
8. Anna Odine Strøm and the peak of her career
The Norwegian arrived at the Olympics ranked fourth in the overall standings. During the season she had one victory and five additional podium finishes. At the Games, however, she won both the normal hill and large hill events, and also claimed a silver medal in the mixed team competition, making it the best two weeks of her career.
The Olympics in theese snow sports did not only bring outstanding individual performances, but also shifts in the balance of power. The question is no longer who was the best this year, but how lasting these dominant performances and changes in hierarchy will be in the next Olympic cycle.
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