DRAMMEN, Norway (AP) — 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.
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Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, second from left, reacts after a fall during the World Cup sprint cross-country race in Drammen, Norway, Thursday March 12, 2026. (Lise Aserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo lies on the snow after a fall during the World Cup sprint cross-country race in Drammen, Norway, Thursday March 12, 2026. (Lise Aserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo lies on the snow after a fall during the World Cup sprint cross-country race in Drammen, Norway, Thursday March 12, 2026. (Lise Aserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo walks after a fall during the World Cup sprint cross-country race in Drammen, Norway, Thursday March 12, 2026. (Lise Aserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)
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.
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, second from left, reacts after a fall during the World Cup sprint cross-country race in Drammen, Norway, Thursday March 12, 2026. (Lise Aserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo lies on the snow after a fall during the World Cup sprint cross-country race in Drammen, Norway, Thursday March 12, 2026. (Lise Aserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo lies on the snow after a fall during the World Cup sprint cross-country race in Drammen, Norway, Thursday March 12, 2026. (Lise Aserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo walks after a fall during the World Cup sprint cross-country race in Drammen, Norway, Thursday March 12, 2026. (Lise Aserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)
PARIS (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that the U.S. 30-day waiver on Russian oil sanctions amid the Iran war is “not the right decision” and won’t help bring a stop to Russia’s more than 4-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
“This easing alone by the United States could provide Russia with about $10 billion for the war,” Zelenskyy said. “This certainly does not help peace.”
“I believe that lifting sanctions will, in any case, lead to a strengthening of Russia’s position. It spends the money from energy sales on weapons, and all of this is then used against us,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to Paris.
“Therefore, ultimately lifting sanctions only so that more drones will later be flying at you is, in my opinion, not the right decision,” he said.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced Thursday a 30-day waiver on Russian oil sanctions. The step aims to free up Russian cargoes stranded at sea and ease supply shortages caused by the Iran war.
Analysts say that spiraling oil prices due to Persian Gulf production blockages are benefiting the Russian economy. Moscow relies heavily on oil revenue to finance its invasion, and sanctions were a growing handicap.
U.S.-mediated talks between Moscow and Kyiv that seek to stop Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II are on hold due to the Iran war, though they could resume next week, according to Zelenskyy.
Macron noted that broad sanctions on Russia still stand despite the temporary U.S. waiver.
U.S. waivers announced in recent days are “limited” and “taken on an exceptional basis,” Macron said. “It does not broadly or permanently roll back the sanctions that they themselves decided to apply,” he added.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz adopted a more critical stance. He said Friday that a meeting earlier this week of heads of state and government from the Group of Seven industrialized democracies discussed with U.S. President Donald Trump the issue of Russian oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
“Six members of the G7 expressed a very clear view that this (waiving of Russia sanctions) is not the right signal to send,” Merz said during a visit to Norway. “We learned this morning that the U.S. government has apparently decided otherwise. Once again, we believe this is the wrong decision.”
Merz added: “There is currently a price problem, but not a supply problem. And in that regard, I would like to know what additional motives led the U.S. government to make this decision.”
Ukraine has become one of the world’s leading producers of drone interceptors, and Kyiv is offering its expertise to the United States and its Gulf partners for the war in the Middle East, hoping to receive in return the high-end weaponry it can’t manufacture at home.
But Trump spurned Ukraine’s offer of assistance to the U.S. in comments aired Friday. “No, we don’t need their help on drone defense,” Trump told the “Brian Kilmeade Show” on Fox News Radio.
Zelenskyy had said on Thursday that Ukraine is awaiting White House approval for an agreement on producing battle-tested drones.
In Paris, he said Kyiv had received a request for drone combat assistance from Washington. The cause of the discrepancy between the leaders' comments was not immediately clear.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has received requests from six countries for help with drones. It has already sent expert teams to three countries, he said, without naming them.
Zelenskyy noted that providing interceptors was not enough to help fight drone attacks. The Ukrainian military has expertise in deploying the systems, he said.
“There must be proper, systematic work with radars and with the entire air defense system,” Zelenskyy said. “Ukraine is ready to share this experience for the sake of the security of those partners who are helping us.”
Novikov contributed from Kyiv, Ukraine. Associated Press writer Kostya Manenkov in Tallinn, Estonia contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
France's President Emmanuel Macron, left, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prior to a meeting at the Elysee Palace, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
France's President Emmanuel Macron, left, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prior to a meeting at the Elysee Palace, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
France's President Emmanuel Macron, right, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prior to a meeting at the Elysee Palace, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
