Ben Ogden becomes first American man in 50 years to win medal in cross-country skiing

Ben Ogden of Team USA won the silver medal in the cross-country sprint Tuesday at the Winter Olympics in Italy, becoming the first American man to win a 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.

Ogden grabbed Team USA’s first individual Olympic sprint medal in cross country, but said it was Klaebo’s race to lose.

“Unbelievable, unbelievable. I just can’t, I can’t put into words. I’m just so thrilled,” the 25-year-old Vermont native said. “I’m proud to be the first in the sprint but there will be more, don’t you worry.”

Klaebo 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.

The 29-year-old Norwegian star Klaebo high-fived and hugged Norway fans after his race, among them his fiancé Pernille Doesvik, who wore a jacket bearing a large image of the champion skier.

Klaebo’s seven gold medals are one shy of the Winter Olympics record shared by three athletes. After his latest triumph, the world’s top-ranked cross-country skier acknowledged that some of the pressure he felt at the start of the Games has now lifted.

“It was amazing,” he said. “My shape is good and I was a little bit more relaxed before this race than I was before Sunday.”

But it was the Swedish fans who had the most to celebrate, singing the national anthem with their skiers on all three places on the women’s podium.

Linn Svahn edged defending Olympic champion Jonna Sundling with Maja Dahlqvist in third place in a race watched by Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf.

“I think I have the best team and the best teammates,” said Sundling, who completed the sprint 1.5 seconds behind the leader’s time of 4 minutes, 3.1 seconds. “I’m really happy to be a part of the team, our Swedish team,” she said. “It’s such a strong team and we always push each other to be better.”

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.