Ben Ogden made history on Feb. 10 with his second place finish in the men's cross-country sprint competition at Milano Cortina 2026. He secured Team USA's first men's cross-country skiing medal since 1976, when Vermonter Bill Koch won silver in the men's 30 km sprint.
Ogden recently spoke with The Sports Rapport's Mitch Wertlieb about his win and longtime connections with Koch and other Vermont Olympians.
More: 16 athletes with Vermont ties to watch at Milan Cortina
This interview was produced for video. We highly recommend watching. We’ve also provided a transcript, which has been edited for length and clarity.
Mitch Wertlieb: Ben Ogden, silver medal winner at the Olympics in the sprint for cross-country. First of all, congratulations. I cannot imagine how this must feel, but I do want to start asking about the feels because there's the emotions in the immediate aftermath of the race, when you realize what you've done and you've won. You've had a little time to process this now. How are you feeling now compared to that moment when you actually took home the silver?
Ben Ogden: First of all, thank you very much for having me and for the nice words. It's been a bit of a whirlwind the last few days. But yeah, I'm feeling really good, and I'm really proud of what we've been able to accomplish as a team and also individually here so far at the games. But yeah, I'm working on trying to kind of, wind down, and get dialed in for the coming races, which is a bit of a challenge.
"Bill [Koch] was a legend, and he taught us when we were young that, you know, if we put our head to it, we can accomplish whatever we want, just the same way that he did."Ben Ogden
Mitch Wertlieb: Yeah, I would imagine you want a little downtime after winning the silver medal, but you're right back at it. I want to talk about, you know — and this has been mentioned a bunch of times because of the symmetry of what you have done here — 50 years since an American man captured a cross-country medal. And of course, the last one to do it was like yourself, a Vermonter, Bill Koch.
I know you have a strong relationship with Bill. Your entire family does. What does it mean to you that you become the first U.S. man to medal — as Bill did — also winning the silver — as he did in Innsbruck, Austria — and then to have that connection and knowing he watched your race. What does it all mean to you?
Ben Ogden: That's been, honestly, the hardest part to process. And it means so much. I mean, like you know, I grew up skiing at Bill Koch's house and, you know, he'd come to practice after elementary school and whatnot. And I got to see his medal and a lot of his other awards and his skis from back in the day that he raced on. And, you know, it's just always been something that's on my mind, but primarily also the relationship with Bill just sort of has taught me and so many others that, you know, we're capable of it too.
This is such a Scandinavian-dominated sport, but Bill was a legend, and he taught us when we were young that, if we put our head to it, we can accomplish whatever we want, just the same way that he did. And I'm really honored to get to be the one to take home the first for the men since him, but there will be more coming. I'm rather confident. So, Bill's work is only just starting to pay off.
Mitch Wertlieb: I love that confidence. You had family on hand too to watch this. Who's there watching you as you won the silver medal?
Ben Ogden: Yeah, I did. My mom was here, which was really cool. She doesn't get to see me ski race very often because I race so much in Europe, so that was awesome. And then, yeah, a ton of other people from my hometown in Landgrove, were here on course as well, and they were getting fired up. So, it was pretty cool.
Mitch Wertlieb: Ben, I was watching the race on YouTube, and I have to say, it was just so thrilling. And folks who have maybe not seen it yet, go check it out. I am curious about the race itself. Was there a moment where you knew that you were at least going to capture second? Because when I saw you go up that really steep part of the hill there, and I guess you went into what they call the "Benny Shuffle," you know. You kind of overtook the second place guy, and then you came out of that and you coasted down. You're in second now, were you thinking to yourself, "I am not giving up this second place?"
Ben Ogden: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. I mean, this course, I've actually raced on quite a bit, and you'll remember the final straight into the finishes is long and kind of slow, especially in these conditions, and I've been caught so many times there.
The final double pole isn't really where my strength lies, my strength lies on the hill. So, I did some work on the hill in that final, but I was not going to let up until I was over the finish line because so many times I've been double poling down that straight and seeing the tips of somebody else coming to the side, and I just start going harder and harder. And, you know, sometimes there can be nothing you can do about it.
But thankfully, in that final, I was well clear of third place. And yeah, I was able to get over the finish line. So, it's pretty cool.
Mitch Wertlieb: Yeah, it was quite amazing. And you know, the winner, Johannes Klæbo, I noticed that, you know, as he was coming towards the finish line, I guess he knew he had already had it won, he really slowed up a lot. You kept on charging, you did not give up, and you only finished a second behind him. Probably not, I'm guessing, but did you have any thoughts that, "Hey, maybe I can actually catch this guy?"
Ben Ogden: No, no, I really, to be honest, I was focused on staying in front of the people behind me. You know, Johannes had won that race outright. He put on an absolute clinic on that last hill. And you know, even if I had caught him when he was celebrating, I don't think it would have felt like a true win. So, I was just trying to secure that second place and I'm so thrilled that I did.
Mitch Wertlieb: Yeah, you sure did. I'm curious too about, you know, people may not realize, this was your fourth race of the day. When you know you have to do that many races before reaching the final, do you leave something back for any extra energy thinking, "OK, I'm going to make the final. I want to have a little extra kick for that." Or is it all out every race, no matter what?
Ben Ogden: I mean that is the challenge of it for sure. And I think that if it really depends on who you are, if your name is Johannes Klæbo, then yes, you leave a good amount for the final because you're so confident you can move through the preliminary rounds with ease. But if you're me, that's not so much the case, you know. Going into this Olympics, I vowed to myself, I would not go down without a fight in this sprint. So, I was not really leaving a whole lot in the tank, to be honest.
The worst case scenario for me was to get pushed out of the rounds before the final and still felt like I had something. So, I was pushing pretty hard in the quarterfinal, the semifinal and in the qualifying rounds as well. But, you know, I was lucky. I mean, everybody was pushing hard. It was a long course, hard conditions, and I think that a lot of the field came in that final quite tired, and I just had a little more in the tank than some of those other guys. So, all is well that ends well, but I was definitely not saving a whole lot.
Mitch Wertlieb: As you're well aware by now, Ben, Vermont is really making a name for itself in these games. I mean, Ryan Cochran-Siegle takes home the silver in the Super G. Former UVM standout Paula Moltzan wins the bronze in the women's combined. You know, your fellow Vermonters now, are bringing a lot of recognition to the Green Mountain State. How do you feel about being a part of that as well?
Ben Ogden: I'm so, so thrilled to be a part of it. And honestly, Ryan Cochran-Siegle has been an inspiration of mine for many years now.
You know, he took home a medal in Beijing four years ago. And since then, we've gotten to know each other a little bit. I helped him do some sugaring and stuff at Cochran's a couple springs ago, and he's just a really fantastic guy, and a true Vermonter and a role model.
And same goes for Paula, and she's just really been moving up. And we, of course, knew each other when we skied together at UVM, and it's just been a real pleasure to get to know those people, and they represent the state so well. So, they're big inspirations of mine, and to have my name written down next to theirs at the beginning of this games, all three taking on the medal is just, it's just a dream come true. And you know, I really can't wait to get home and see both of them and just congratulate them and, yeah, catch up and reminisce. It's gonna be really fun.
Mitch Wertlieb: Yeah, folks back in Landgrove, Vermont, are going to be super happy about this, they already are. I was talking to Peggy Shinn, the great Olympics reporter, and she relayed the story to me. I'm not sure if you'll recall this or not, but apparently, some years ago, they were asking where you're from, and you know, you would mention that you grew up in Vermont or something. And then you said, but you were born, you said, embarrassingly in New Hampshire. And that got changed into "Ben Ogden is from Embarrassing, New Hampshire," when they put it up on the TV. Do you remember that incident?
Ben Ogden: I remember, yeah. It was four years ago at the Beijing Olympics pre, I was on a call like this, and I thought it was kind of like an interview, maybe live. So, I was trying to be funny and clever. But it turns out it was just somebody trying to get information to put on the Team USA bio website.
And yeah, they asked me where I was born. I said, "embarrassingly, you know, New Hampshire." And then a couple days later, somebody sent me a screenshot of the Team USA graphic, and it said, "Embarrassingly, New Hampshire," which was pretty good. I really, I couldn't have drawn it up any better than that.
Mitch Wertlieb: Landgrove, folks, that's it. Population fewer than 200 but on the map. Ben, one more question here. You know, we are having an epic winter here in Vermont, which I'm sure your friends and family back home have been telling you. The snow is waiting for you here. When are you getting back to Vermont?
Ben Ogden: That is a great question, and I honestly can't wait, and I hope the snow lasts. I'm planning on being home, let's see, March 13. So, coming up, but still a month. We have World Cup racing coming up after this games, in Scandinavia, and then the World Cup finals for this year is in Lake Placid, New York. So, for anybody interested in coming out, I'll be racing there. It's going to be a good time, and should be a lot of fun.
Mitch Wertlieb: Fantastic. Well, listen, relish in this now. You have made history. You are a silver medal winner, the first male cross-country skier to bring home a medal [in the last 50 years]. Couldn't be more proud of you here in Vermont, and thank you, Ben, so very much for the time. I really appreciate it.
Ben Ogden: Thank you so much for having me. You know, I'm a big fan of Vermont Public and I love all that you guys do, so I'll be listening in the summertime when I'm back home. So, this is a real honor to get to come on.
