Ben Ogden ends United States’ 50-year medal drought in cross-country with silver in sprint

Ben Ogden won silver in the men’s cross-country skiing sprint Tuesday at the Milan Cortina Olympics, becoming just the second U.S. man ever to win an Olympic cross-country skiing medal and the first in 50 years. 

Bill Koch, a fellow Vermonter, won silver in the 50k classic at the Innsbruck 1976 Winter Games. Ogden actually grew up in the Bill Koch Youth Ski League and has skied with Koch.
 

With his fantastic classic technique, Ogden surged to silver with a time of three minutes and 40 seconds. Norwegian Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won his seventh Olympic gold medal with a time of three minutes and 39 seconds, and his teammate Oskar Opstad Vike won bronze in his Olympic debut.

From the start, Ogden was on fire and set the second fastest time in qualifications. In the quarterfinals, Klaebo utilized his energy-saving strategy. In another heat, Ogden surged from second to first by hitting the gas on the incline and leaving the other skiers behind.

In the narrowed field of the semifinals, Klaebo trailed Ogden at the start of the race before sprinting forward. Ogden and Finland’s Lauri Vuorinen fought for second with a photo finish giving the win to Vuorinen. Ogden advanced to the finals as the fastest “lucky loser.”

Three of the American men qualified for the sprint classic. In the semifinals, JC Schoonmaker waited until after the climb to use the draft for a late surge, but he did make the finals.