BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Norway's cross-country skier Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo clinched his third gold at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games on Friday, and eighth overall, joining an exclusive echelon as the most decorated Olympians.

In the men's 10,000m speed skating, Olympic debutant Metodej Jilek clocked a time of 12 minutes 33.43 seconds to emerge victorious. Jilek became the first Czech male speed skater to win an Olympic gold with his triumph in the 10,000m.

France's Quentin Fillon Maillet won the men's 10km biathlon sprint, shooting clean and clocking a total time of 22 minutes 53.1 seconds.

In snowboarding, Australia's Josie Baff captured gold in the women's cross event, overtaking Switzerland's Noemie Wiedmer and holding off a late charge from Czech rider Eva Adamczykova in the big final.

China's Yongqinglamu and Pang Chuyuan were eliminated in the first round of the knockout stage, but their participation carried significance as it marked the country's first qualification for the event purely on merit under the international points system.

Japan's Totsuka Yuto claimed the men's halfpipe gold, while Australia's five-time Olympian Scotty James came in second again after Beijing 2022.

Also on Friday, Kazakh figure skater Mikhail Shaidorov emerged as a surprise winner in the men's event, which saw American sensation Ilia Malinin come up short in the free skate and drop from first after the short program to eighth overall. Japan's Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato secured silver and bronze respectively.

In the men's skeleton, Britain's Matt Weston broke the track record four times en route to victory with a total time of three minutes 43.33 seconds.