A young star of Norway’s cross-country skiing team looks to dominate in Beijing.

Johannes Klaebo stands out even on Norway’s powerful cross-country skiing team. After all, it’s a little unusual for an athlete who is still racing to have a hill named after him.

But Klaebo’s uphill performances made him a breakout star at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and prompted the Norwegian news media to nickname a steep hill on a course there the “Klaebo bakken” (or Klaebo hill).

Klaebo, 25, won three gold medals at those Games. He went on to win the World Cups in cross-country skiing in 2018 and 2019, and he is the favorite in that competition this year as well.

His appearance at the Beijing Games begins with the men’s skiathlon at 2 a.m. Eastern on Sunday. The first half of the roughly 10-mile race is skied in the so-called classic style, widely used for many decades. Skiers look as if they are walking, with the skis remaining in a straight line. The second half is skied in the faster, more modern freestyle, in which skiers use motions similar to skating.

In his first-ever Olympic race four years ago, Klaebo finished 10th in that event after a poor free skiing leg. But the Klaebo of today is a heavy favorite.

It may be time to start searching locations for another Klaebo bakken in the mountains of Zhangjiakou.