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.
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.