Ben Ogden of Team USA won the silver medal in the cross-country sprint Tuesday at the Winter Olympics in Italy.
The U.S. Ski Team said Ogden is the first American man to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing since Bill Koch in 1976.
Ogden finished 0.8 seconds behind Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, who blazed to his second victory to win his seventh Olympic gold medal.
Silver medalist Ben Ogden of Team USA celebrates on the podium for the men’s cross-country sprint at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Lago, Italy, Feb. 10, 2026.
Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach
The 29-year-old Norwegian star separated from the field with a punishing late uphill run to finish in 3 minutes, 39.8 seconds, easing off in the home stretch. Another Norwegian, Oskar Opstad Vike, placed third, 6.8 seconds behind the leader.
Linn Svahn led a Swedish sweep in the women’s competition, edging defending Olympic champion Jonna Sundling with Maja Dahlqvist in third place in a race watched by Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf.
Top-ranked Jessie Diggins of the United States was eliminated in the quarterfinals, compounding her disappointment after a fall in her opening race at the weekend.
Klaebo’s seven gold medals are one shy of the Olympic record in cross-country skiing.
