American Ben Ogden wins silver, breaking 50 year medal drought for U.S. men’s cross-country skiing
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – Vermont cross-country ski racer Ben Ogden pulled off a feat today at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Val di Fiemme, Italy, that no men’s U.S. skier has accomplished since 1976 — ascending a podium at a Winter Olympics.
Ogden, 25, won silver, finishing behind Johannes Klaebo of Norway. Oskar Vike of Norway finished in third place, claiming bronze.
“It was so, so awesome,” Ogden said, minutes after crossing the finish line. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to accomplish this goal.”
After the medal ceremony, Ogden celebrated by doing a backflip off the podium. “I promised my 15 year old self I would do that if I was ever on an Olympic podium. I got up there and I was like, well, now is the moment.”
Today’s race was a sprint in the classic style, requiring racers to qualify and then advance through quarter-finals and semi-finals before the final heat of six skiers in which medals are decided.
Ogden qualified in second place and looked strong in the heats. He finished well behind Klaebo, the winningest cross country skier ever, but well ahead of Vike.
According to Ogden, he realized near the end of the race that he had a strong chance to reach the podium. “I looked around … and it was just the three of us.”
The last U.S. men’s ski racer to medal in cross-country was Ogden’s fellow Vermonter Bill Koch, who took silver at the Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria. Ogden grew up near Koch and often skied on trails through Vermont woods on Koch’s land.
“I know Bill, 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 help propel us into the next 50 years,” Ogden said. “I been thinking about Bill a lot.”
The U.S. Ski team quickly celebrated Ogden’s powerful showing, posting on X that he climbed to “SECOND in the world to become the first American man to win an Olympic medal since Bill Koch in 1976!!”
This is Ogden’s third Olympic games.
The top U.S. cross-country ski racer on the women’s side, Jessie Diggins, failed to advance in classic sprint races Tuesday. Julia Kern reached the finals and finished in sixth place.
– This story is developing and will be updated.
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