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Feb. 10—Vermont skier Ben Ogden won a silver medal in a classic sprint race Tuesday at the Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games, breaking a five decade drought for the U.S. men.
Ogden is the first American man to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing since Bill Koch in 1976.
Ogden finished .87 seconds behind the gold medalist, Norwegian Johannes Høsflot Klaebo, who crossed the finish line in 3 minutes, 39.74 seconds.
It was the second gold in as many races for Klaebo at the Olympics. Ogden advanced to the sprint final based on his time after a third-place finish in the semifinals and said he had good energy going into the finals.
"I figured now is my one chance and there was never going to be a better opportunity than that to make my dream come true," he said. "I can't believe I was able to pull it off."
Koch, also from Vermont, won silver in a 30K race in the 1976 Games in Innsbruck, Austria. Ogden said he hopes the win will make an impact as American skiers continue to progress on an international level.
"I hope it gives the future of the sport in the U.S. a big boost," Ogden said. "I know that Bill winning his medal gave a big boost to all the young skiers and all the people who dreamed the U.S. could be a champion cross-country ski nation. I hope this will propel us into the next 50 years."
On the women's side, Julia Kern was the top American. Kern reached the finals of the sprint race and placed sixth in a time of 4:43.41. Swedish skier Linn Svahn won gold in the event.
Alaska skier JC Schoonmaker advanced out of his quarterfinal heat, but placed fourth in his semifinal heat and didn't advance to the finals.
(Nat Herz contributed to this report from the 2026 Winter Games in Tesero, Italy.)
Continue reading...
Ogden is the first American man to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing since Bill Koch in 1976.
Ogden finished .87 seconds behind the gold medalist, Norwegian Johannes Høsflot Klaebo, who crossed the finish line in 3 minutes, 39.74 seconds.
It was the second gold in as many races for Klaebo at the Olympics. Ogden advanced to the sprint final based on his time after a third-place finish in the semifinals and said he had good energy going into the finals.
"I figured now is my one chance and there was never going to be a better opportunity than that to make my dream come true," he said. "I can't believe I was able to pull it off."
Koch, also from Vermont, won silver in a 30K race in the 1976 Games in Innsbruck, Austria. Ogden said he hopes the win will make an impact as American skiers continue to progress on an international level.
"I hope it gives the future of the sport in the U.S. a big boost," Ogden said. "I know that Bill winning his medal gave a big boost to all the young skiers and all the people who dreamed the U.S. could be a champion cross-country ski nation. I hope this will propel us into the next 50 years."
On the women's side, Julia Kern was the top American. Kern reached the finals of the sprint race and placed sixth in a time of 4:43.41. Swedish skier Linn Svahn won gold in the event.
Alaska skier JC Schoonmaker advanced out of his quarterfinal heat, but placed fourth in his semifinal heat and didn't advance to the finals.
(Nat Herz contributed to this report from the 2026 Winter Games in Tesero, Italy.)
Continue reading...
