The Norwegian superhero Johannes Høsflot Klæbo took the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics by storm, winning 6 gold medals – the most ever for a Winter Olympic athlete in history. He has 11 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze medals in his not-yet-finished Olympic career. At age 29, he may have two more Winter Olympics to go.
After he crossed the finish line to win his sixth gold medal in Milano this week, his heart rate was 218 beat per minute while his lactate level was 26.8 mmol/L (millimoles per liter).
The Injury Breakdown explained how Klæbo trains by obsessing over the following principles:
- Principle 1: polarized training where he trains 800 hours annually, but 80% of that training is at Zone 1 or Zone 2 with 20% brutally hard threshold intervals and VO2 max repeats.
- Principle 2: technique obsession with up to 20% focused on technique
- Principle 3: strength integration andd focus because technique diminishes under fatigue
I love learning how other athletes train and what they focus on, to learn how their perspectives and focus can be implemented by open water swimmers and myself.
© 2026 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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