DRAMMEN, Norway — Norwegian cross-country skiing star Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo said Friday he sustained a concussion from a fall in a World Cup race a day earlier but that he was “all good in the hood."
Klaebo, one of the stars of the recent Milan Cortina Games, said he would "take some days off" to recover after his crash involving U.S. skier Ben Ogden during on Thursday.
Klaebo posted a photo of himself giving a thumbs-up from a hospital bed, and he included audio of the Bee Gees disco hit “Stayin’ Alive.”
“Took a fall yesterday and hit my head pretty hard, but luckily everything is all good in the hood,” he wrote on Instagram.
“Ended up with a concussion so I'll take some days off from both training and the internet just to make sure everything settles properly. Only got one head, so have to take good care of it.”
Klaebo, who last month set a record for most gold medals (six) won at a single Winter Olympics, also thanked “everyone who reached out and checked in.”
Thursday’s crash happened in a semifinal heat of the men’s sprint competition in Drammen. Ogden lost his balance and fell across the skis of Klaebo, who fell backward and hit his head on the snow.
Klaebo will miss Saturday's 50-kilometer race at Holmenkollen, and his status for the World Cup finals next week in Lake Placid, New York, was unclear.
“We will monitor his progress closely and make ongoing assessments regarding when it is appropriate for him to resume training and potentially take part in upcoming competitions,” Norway national team doctor Ove Feragen said in a statement Friday. “It is too early to say whether he will participate in the World Cup finals in the USA.”
The Drammen hospital's diagnosis was “a mild head injury, a light concussion," Feragen confirmed.
Klaebo was “doing well under the circumstances,” the doctor's statement said, adding that the Olympic champion would travel home to Trondheim on Friday.
Klaebo’s 11 career gold medals is also a Winter Olympics record.
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics