Fifty years without a medal, and 1.5 kilometers away from history.

Everything fell into place for Ben Ogden in the men’s cross-country skiing sprint classic at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, even if he didn’t know it until he crossed the finish line.

For the 25-year-old from Vermont, the start of Tuesday, Feb. 10, was the same as any other, except for a bit of nervousness. He races a lot. In particular, he races the sprint classic event a lot — several times a year since he first started competing.

“It just felt like another day in the life, for the most part,” Ogden said. “Throughout the course of the day, I started getting closer and closer to that big goal, and [it] got more intense, but also more exciting.”

For these athletes, the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Val Di Fiemme, Italy, is a familiar place. The venue hosts stages of the Tour de Ski each year. The Olympic element, however, was new.

“It's been [a place] that's been a really tough one for me to crack, honestly,” Ogden said about Tesero. “In the four years I've done it, I've deployed a handful of different tactics, none of which have been particularly successful.”

With the knowledge gained from his previous performances, Ogden formed a strategy. He knew the final five seconds of the races on this course are crucial, but that’s not where his skill lies. This time, he told himself, it’s the Olympics, and he wouldn’t be leaving anything in the tank.

He knew that if he could make his move on the hill before the final stretch, that would play to his strengths. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about the final 100 meters.

“I've tried to be patient. I've tried to let it come down to the final sprint or all manner of other things. And it hasn't been successful,” he said. “But [that day], on the right day, thankfully, I was able to sort it out.”

Ogden was not initially on most people’s radar for the Olympic podium. That changed when he placed 2nd behind Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo in qualification.

Then during the quarterfinals, Ogden left his competitors in the rear-view mirror. The broadcast crew commented on how fantastic his classic technique was. He was starting to feel confident.

Ogden finished his quarterfinal race with a time that was more than four seconds faster than Klaebo’s. The Norwegian is known to save his energy in the earlier rounds, but Ogden was skiing fast.

“I think that the quarterfinal … was where I really felt like I was feeling good and strong and had a chance to really capitalize on that day,” he said. “My skis were feeling really fast, and I was able to kick really well.”

His strategy was put to the test in the semifinal. After Ogden made his move on the incline, Finland’s Lauri Vuorinen caught up to him at the last second, and the race ended in a photo finish. The judges determined that Ogden had finished .04 seconds behind Vuorinen for 2nd place behind Klaebo. 

A photo finish of Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway, Lauri Vuorinen of Norway, and Ben Ogden of the U.S. in the semifinals of the cross-country skiing men's sprint classic on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at Milan Cortina 2026.

The result meant Ogden was in danger of missing the final. Only the top two skiers from the heat automatically advanced onward — he would need to wait and see if he'd get in as one of the lucky losers. He told himself that if he made it on, he would “capitalize” on the opportunity.

“When I found out I was in the final and then was able to go for it, I just felt super locked in,” he said. “And I just was like, I'm not going to let this slip through my fingers."

Klaebo, who had a monumental race, accelerated uphill at a top speed of 11.4 mph. As the final seconds of the race approached, Klaebo looked back to see if he was in the lead, but according to Ogden, he was focused on getting to the finish line.

In that same flat 100-meter section, Ogden had felt the stress of that stretch so many times before — from the Finnish athlete in the semifinals, and from past races.

“When I could taste that medal, I was absolutely not going to allow myself to pull up or slow down or think about the accomplishment until I was over the finish line,” he said.

Ogden didn’t look back at Oskar Opstad Vike of Norway in 3rd place, nor at Klaebo ahead of him, until he was done with his race. Once Ogden crossed the finished line, it was done, and the emotions hit. Exhausted from giving the race everything, he waved at the crowd with an American flag, catching his breath as he realized he’d just won a silver medal for Team USA.

“Oh my f—ing God,” his Mom said when she saw him with his silver medal for the first time.

Silver medalist USA's Ben Ogden celebrates with the U.S. flag after the men's cross-country sprint classic final on Feb. 10 at Milan Cortina 2026.

Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP via Getty Images

As he took selfies and backflipped off the podium, Ogden didn’t realize exactly how long it had been since the last medal for the U.S. men’s cross-country team. 

He’d grown up in Vermont skiing with Bill Koch at the Bill Koch Youth Ski League. Koch was the last U.S. man to win silver in the 30km classic at the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Games, and now their legacies are intrinsically tied.

“I didn't even realize the 50-year thing," Ogden said. "I knew it had been a long time, but I didn't know it was exactly 50 years, and it's so thrilling to me that that our success will go down together. It's so cool.” 

For Ogden, he couldn’t have dreamed of anything better. Koch was a lifelong inspiration and role model who taught him the importance of working hard and being humble. He remembers going to Koch’s house after school and training with him on little trails through the woods and doing jumps.

“He was the first to ever show us growing up that if you want it, you can go out and get it as a cross-country skier,” Ogden said.

Now that the drought is over, he hopes that the men’s cross-country team can continue to build on the medal momentum, that people can take confidence from this moment. Even though it was Ogden’s medal, it really was a win for the U.S. Ski Team overall.

“In every other step along the way for the American men and skiing, it's been this sort of thing where everybody collectively rallies around one goal,” he said.

Ogden has watched his teammates have success in recent years. On Tuesday, it was Ogden’s teammates flooding him with support.

“Crazy day yesterday. [Ben Ogden] you’re a legend. You inspire me and so many others,” JC Schoonmaker said on social media. 

“Holy s— my boy!!! Drought over. Here comes the rain!!” Gus Schumacher wrote.

Even U.S. legend Jessie Diggins chimed in on social media, saying she was “especially thrilled for [Ben Ogden]’s big moment.”

Ogden believes this silver-medal win — one that was full-circle from Koch to him — will have a ripple effect for his teammates. 

“I'm really excited for where our team is at and the camaraderie that we have as a group,” he said. “And just going forward, it's going to be spectacular.”