TESERO, Italy, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo crowned a historic Winter Olympic campaign on Saturday, capturing his sixth gold medal at Milan-Cortina as Norway swept the 50km mass start podium.

"To be able to finish it up with six out of six, there couldn't be a better way to do that," Klaebo said. "Italy has treated me well this Olympics."

The triumph completed a remarkable clean sweep of all six men's cross-country skiing events and set a new record for the most gold medals won by a single athlete at one Winter Olympics.

With the win, Klaebo surpassed the 46-year benchmark set by American speed skating great Eric Heiden, who claimed five gold medals at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.

It was a dominant display for Norway. Klaebo's teammates, Martin Loewstroem Nyenget, secured silver while Emil Iversen took bronze, completing a Norwegian sweep of the podium.

The trio surged to the front early in the race and steadily widened their gap over the rest of the field. On the final lap, Nyenget and Klaebo accelerated on an uphill stretch, distancing Iversen. Klaebo remained tucked in behind Nyenget, conserving energy for a decisive move.

When they approached the final climb, Klaebo unleashed a powerful surge, pulling away and sealing his place in Olympic history. As he crossed the finish line in two hours six minutes and 44.8 seconds, he pointed skyward in celebration, stepped across the line, then collapsed in exhaustion and joy.

"It's really cool. The cool part was what we did here in the sprint. Some of the clips went viral and people are starting to see a bit more of cross-country skiing," the 29-year-old said. "It's a big difference to what we are used to in the world championships, where I feel like [only] the Nordic countries are really paying attention, but the Olympics is way bigger."

The victory lifted Klaebo's career Winter Olympic gold medal total to 11 across three Games, further extending his record. Among all Olympians, he now ranks second in total gold medals, trailing only American swimming legend Michael Phelps, who holds the all-time record with 23 Olympic golds.  ■