Vermont Skiers Win 3 Medals at 2026 Winter Olympics

Ben Ogden spent four years believing he didn't belong on the same start list as Norwegian skiing legend Johannes Klæbo. On Tuesday, the 25-year-old from Landgrove, Vermont stood on an Olympic podium beside him.

Ogden finished just 0.87 seconds behind Klæbo in the men's sprint classic at the Milano Cortina Winter Games, claiming silver and ending a 50-year medal drought for U.S. men's cross-country skiing. The last American to medal was fellow Vermonter Bill Koch, who won silver in 1976.

The six-foot-four mechanical engineering graduate raced through qualifiers, quarterfinals, and semifinals to earn his spot in the six-skier final. His mother Andrea watched from stadium seats as her son skied the biggest hills of the day side by side with the world's best.

"It was beautiful skiing," she said, surrounded by 30 Vermont fans wearing bright orange "VT 2026" hats in the Italian crowd.

Just hours earlier, Waitsfield's Paula Moltzan partnered with Jacqueline Wiles to win bronze in the women's team combined. Moltzan handled the slalom while Wiles tackled the downhill, finishing just 0.25 seconds behind Austria's gold medal team.

Both Olympic medalists skied for the University of Vermont. UVM Nordic coach Patrick Weaver, who coached Ogden for five years, saw the potential before the games. "He's just a really gritty skier," Weaver said. "He just goes out and gives it his all."

The Ripple Effect

Ogden grew up skiing in the youth league founded by Bill Koch himself. His late father John coached in the same program, creating a direct line of Vermont skiing excellence spanning five decades.

The Ogden family never obsessed over results or pressured their three children to chase victories. That relaxed approach helped build an athlete confident enough to wave at his mom moments before the biggest race of his life, then ski three minutes and 40 seconds of near-perfect technique.

Vermont has punched well above its weight at these games, with the tiny state's athletes contributing significantly to Team USA's medal count. For a state of just 647,000 people, producing multiple Olympic medalists in a single games shows the power of strong community sports programs and patient, supportive coaching.

Two UVM Catamounts proved they belong among the world's best.