Ben Ogden, Gus Schumacher change course for US men in crosscountry skiing Alex Connor, USA TODAYFri, February 20, 2026 at 1:01 PM UTC 0 MILAN — Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher, fresh off a silver medal finish in crosscountry skiing, celebrated with a meterslong pizza and a hot tub session with the team. "It was incredible," Ogden said of the meal. "I think there's some leftovers and it's damn near time to go and check it out because that was super good." There was cheese, cured meat and even tuna. "No pineapple on any of them, though," Schumacher said. This is Italy.
Ben Ogden, Gus Schumacher change course for US men in cross-country skiing
Alex Connor, USA TODAYFri, February 20, 2026 at 1:01 PM UTC
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MILAN — Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher, fresh off a silver medal finish in cross-country skiing, celebrated with a meters-long pizza and a hot tub session with the team.
"It was incredible," Ogden said of the meal. "I think there's some leftovers and it's damn near time to go and check it out because that was super good."
There was cheese, cured meat and even tuna. "No pineapple on any of them, though," Schumacher said. This is Italy.
"I don't think the Italians stoop to that level," Ogden added.
(From L) Silver medallists USA's Gus Schumacher and USA's Ben Ogden celebrate on the podium of the men's team cross country free sprint final event of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Lago di Tesero (Val di Fiemme), on February 18, 2026.
Ogden and Schumacher are part of the cohort at this year's Winter Games that may be turning the page for U.S. athletes in a sport dominated by their Scandinavian counterparts.
They grew up idolizing Bill Koch, who in 1976 became the only American to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing. And they "remember vividly" when that U.S. medal drought ended in 2018 after Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins won gold in the women's team sprint freestyle.
"Americans can do it, and Jessie and Kikkan and Bill, they all help to teach us that," Ogden said. "And to get to be in those ranks now after this Olympics is really and truly a dream come true. I don't even know if it's fully sunk in that, when those lists get formed, our names are going be on them."
The team win with Schumacher marked the second podium moment for Ogden, who won silver in the men's spring classic after finishing less than a second behind Norwegian star Johannes Høsflot Klæbo.
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[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Feb 12, 2026; Tesero, Italy; Bronze medallist Jessie Diggins of the United States celebrates on the podium in the women's cross country skiing 10km interval start freestyle during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters via Imagn Images
But up until that point, it was really just Team USA's Diggins — the most decorated cross-country skier in American history — who was bringing home the Olympic hardware in the discipline.
It'll be Diggins last Olympics, and she claimed bronze in the women's 10km. She did it with bruised ribs.
"She knows how to walk the line and be a good teammate and deal with the harder parts of being a professional cross-country skier," Ogden said, pointing to the time spent away from home for training. "That can be really hard but having a quality team and supportive teammates is really helpful and she has really helped us learn how to be that for each other."
As for what's next, Ogden and Schumacher hope to use their silver medal wins on a global stage to ramp up excitement about the sport.
"For us, in a way, the Olympics are just another ski race," Schumacher said. "But because everyone's watching, it's really not just another ski race and being able to perform during these couple weeks every 4 years is of outsized importance."
As to why people should consider the sport? It's a "great way to connect with nature," Ogden said, "in a world where it could be hard to."
American Ben Ogden celebrates winning silver in the Men's Sprint Classic Final at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium.
Speaking of the "natural world," Ogden and Schumacher said, no, they didn't get the "honor" of seeing the local dog that went viral after running on the course during the women's cross-country skiing team sprint qualification in Livigno.
But Ogden's girlfriend, he said, did. "She didn't have any pictures of us on the podium or anything like that. She just showed me a video of the dog and how cute it was."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US men win silver at 2026 Winter Olympics in cross-country skiing
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Source: Sports
Published: February 20, 2026 at 03:27PM on Source: MARIO MAG
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