Krueger was joined by fellow Norwegians Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Sjur Røthe in the top three.

The 29-year-old Krueger finished 12.2 seconds before second-placed Klæbo.

He now joins Russia's Alexander Bolshunov and Switzerland’s Dario Cologna as the only male skiers who have won the skiathlon at the World Championships and the Olympic Games, as he achieved his Olympic victory at Pyeongchang 2018.

"It’s unbelievable to be a world champion," said Krueger.

"I missed this gold medal so I had dreams to make it here in this championships. 

"For that to come true, that’s unbelievable."

Krueger bounced back after finishing second during the Oberstdorf 2021 World Championships, which was won by Bolshunov by a slim margin of 1.1 seconds.

In the women's Nordic combined women's individual normal hill, Hansen was able to retain her title after she recorded a score of 114.1 points with a maximum distance of 91 metres, followed by a total time of 14:27.1.

Germany's Natalie Armbruster finished second after securing 109.4 points with a furthest distance of 98m, ending 20 seconds behind the leader.

In third and fourth were Japanese sisters Haruka Kasai and Yuna Kasai, who finished with 96.5m and 94.5m respectively.

Haruka finished 28 seconds behind the leader, while Yuna finished two seconds behind her sibling.

In the men's ski jumping individual normal hill qualifier, Slovenia's own Anže Lanišek topped the round with a total of 141.6 points, reaching a maximum distance of 98m.

In second was Stefan Kraft of Austria, who recorded 137.4 points and a top distance of 97.5m.

Lanišek's compatriot Timi Zajc finished third with only 0.3 points behind Kraft, with his top distance reaching 99m.

The 2023 Nordic World Ski Championships will continue tomorrow with the finals of the men's individual ski jumping, women's team ski jumping, men's individual Nordic combined, and the women's skiathlon.