TESERO, Italy — Having recently ended a 50-year medal drought in men’s cross-country skiing, American Ben Ogden cemented his prowess on Wednesday by securing a second silver, proving his initial win was no accident.
Alongside Gus Schumacher, the U.S. men’s team presented a significant challenge to the favored Norwegians and successfully held off host-nation Italy in the final stretch, marking their most successful Olympics ever at the Milan Cortina Games.
“We clearly showed today and all week that we are here to compete and that U.S. athletes are in prime condition,” Ogden remarked. “It was absolutely incredible.”
Ogden became the first American man in half a century to win an Olympic cross-country skiing medal when he claimed silver in the sprint event on February 10. Prior to this, Bill Koch, who earned silver in 1976 in Innsbruck, was the sole American male medalist in the sport.
This victory in the men’s team sprint now establishes Ogden as America’s most decorated male cross-country skier.
The two-man relay consisted of two segments for each skier, with Ogden initiating the race and Schumacher concluding it.
This placed Schumacher in direct competition with Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, who has dominated the sport and continually sets new Olympic records. Klaebo’s win on Wednesday was his tenth gold medal, surpassing his own record for the highest number of overall golds in the Winter Olympics.
As Schumacher remained closely behind Klaebo during the final ascent, his focus was clear: “Just follow Klaebo’s rear and concentrate on that all the way to the finish line,” he explained. “I managed it, and I’m extremely proud.”
Schumacher was unable to overtake Klaebo but successfully held off Italy’s Federico Pellegrino.
With only 10 meters remaining, he saw Ogden across the finish line waiting to greet him, confirming a medal was secured. He crossed 1.4 seconds after Klaebo and collapsed into the snow. Ogden dropped to his knees, embracing his teammate and friend.
“I’ll be known as the one who got beaten,” Schumacher jokingly said. “That’s the downside of finishing second, but yes, I’m incredibly happy with it.”
In recent years, the narrative of U.S. cross-country skiing has largely centered on its women, particularly superstar Jessie Diggins, the current World Cup leader who is competing in her final Olympics.
Diggins is the most decorated U.S. cross-country skier with four medals, including a gold from the 2018 Pyeongchang team sprint with Kikkan Randall, two silvers, and her most recent — a bronze at these games in the 10-kilometer interval start.
Diggins and Julia Kern finished fifth in the women’s team sprint on Wednesday.
Ogden described the outcome as “immense” for U.S. skiing and expressed his hope that this bicoastal triumph – with him residing in Vermont and Schumacher in Alaska – would inspire all skiers.
“Hopefully, everyone will be motivated after seeing this because, you know, this week we proved that American skiers can perform just like anyone else, and that applies to every age, every generation, everyone in the ski community in the U.S.,” Ogden stated. “So, heading home is going to be fantastic.”
Ogden asserted that another half-century wouldn’t pass before the U.S. achieves another podium finish. Based on these results, his statement may well be accurate.