MILAN — Team USA has its first cross-country skiing medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
American cross-country skier Ben Ogden captured the silver medal in the men’s sprint classic on Tuesday, finishing with a time of 3:40.61, less than a second behind Norwegian star Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. Norway’s Oskar Opstad Vike finished with the bronze medal with a time of 3:46.55.
Ogden’s silver ends a nearly 50-year Olympic medal drought for the American men. He becomes just the second American man to win an Olympic cross-country skiing medal and the first to make the podium since Bill Koch captured silver in 30km at the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics.
Ogden previously finished in 12th-place in the men’s sprint classic at the 2022 Beijing Games, marking the best finish for the U.S. men in the Olympic event at the time. He came into the 2026 Winter Olympics with two World Cup podium finishes under his belt, with his most recent bronze coming in the 10km freestyle in January 2025.
Klaebo pulled his foot off the gas as he approached the finish line and cruised to his third consecutive sprint gold medal and his seventh overall gold medal in the race. He also claimed gold in the men’s 10km + 10km skiathlon on Sunday.
Earlier Tuesday, American Julia Kern finished in sixth place in the women’s sprint classic final with a time of 4:43.41. Jessie Diggins failed to make it out of the quarterfinals after winning the bronze medal in the sprint classic at the 2022 Beijing Games.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Other Articles
Vonn doing well enough to text with friends, including Italian star
MLB win totals: Predicting every team’s record for 2026 season
