Cross-country: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo opens up about his father's cancer: “Brutal”

Norwegian cross-country great Johannes Høsflot Klæbo has spoken publicly for the first—and, he says, the last—time about a private family crisis: his father Haakon’s serious cancer diagnosis when Johannes was a child.

In an interview cited from Norwegian TV2, the 29‑year‑old calls the experience “brutal.” He recalls being around nine or ten years old when his father learned he had leukemia, a severe blood cancer. Haakon spent long periods in the hospital while the rest of the family tried to maintain as normal a life as possible—something that, for Johannes, meant continuing with skiing.

During those months, Klæbo’s grandfather, Kåre Høsflot, became a cornerstone in his daily life and budding career, frequently driving him to and from training and helping keep routines intact. Klæbo says that period forged exceptionally close family bonds and helped explain why the family remains so tightly knit today.

The article notes Klæbo’s extraordinary sporting record—20 championship golds, including a sweep of six titles at the home World Championships in Trondheim earlier this year—and his status as a leading favorite for the Milano–Cortina 2026 Olympics. But behind the medals, Klæbo emphasizes the difficult reality his family faced and the support network that helped him through it.