Benjamin "Ben" Ogden (born February 13, 2000) is an American

cross-country skier Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

. He has been a member of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team since 2019. Ogden made history in 2018 at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships in Goms, Switzerland, when he and his teammates secured a silver medal in the junior men's relay, which was the first ever medal for the U.S. men at a World Juniors Championship event. His website is
benogden.org

Early life

Ogden grew up in Landgrove, Vermont. He and his older sister,

Katharine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

, who is also a professional skier, were taught to ski by their father. As a young skier, he trained with the West River Nordic Club at the Wild Wings XC Center.

Athletic career

2017–2018: Juniors

In 2018, Ogden became one of 12 skiers named to the squad for the FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships by U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Ogden, along with teammates Luke Jager, Hunter Wonders, and Gus Schumacher, won the silver medal in the 4 × 5 km relay race – the first ever medal for the U.S. men at the World Junior Ski Championships. Ogden skied the second leg of the relay, moving the team up from sixth to fourth place at the hand-off.

2018–2019: Return to Juniors and World Cup debut

Ogden was nominated to the 2018–2019 U.S. Ski Team as a member of the D Team. During the 2019 FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships in

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...

, Ogden and his teammates won the gold medal in the 4 × 5 km relay race, improving upon the result the U.S. had achieved during the previous season. Ogden skied the second classic leg for the team composed of Luke Jager, Johnny Hagenbuch, and Gus Schumacher. Ogden made his

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

debut on 22 March 2019 in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He was one of nine SMS T2 skiers to qualify for the 2018–2019 World Cup Finals.

2019–2020: World Juniors Gold and NCAA Championships

Ogden was again nominated to the D Team with the U.S. Ski Team for the 2019–2020 season. On 6 March 2020, Ogden, Jager, Hagenbuch, and Schumacher became repeat champions and took home the gold medal at the 2020 FIS Junior Cross Country World Championships in

Oberwiesenthal Oberwiesenthal (; officially Kurort Oberwiesenthal) is a town and a ski resort in the district of Erzgebirgskreis in Saxony in Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, on the border with the Czech Republic, 19 km south of Annaberg-Buchh ...

. Later that month, Ogden took first place in the 10 km freestyle race at the 2020

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

National Skiing Championships in

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...

. On 12 March 2020, 30 minutes after the freestyle podium ceremony, the NCAA announced that all remaining races were cancelled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

concerns.

2020–2021

The Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team announced their roster for the 2020–2021 season on 7 November 2020, with Ogden once again included as a member of the D Team.

2021–2022: Olympic Debut

At the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Ogden placed 12th in the freestyle sprint race, which was the best-ever men’s individual sprint finish for the United States. At the 2022 NCAA National Skiing Championships, Ogden claimed his second national title when he won the men's 10 km classical race.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games

Distance reduced to 30 km due to weather conditions.

World Championships

World Cup

Season titles

* 1 title – (1 U23)

Season standings

Individual podiums

*1 podium – (1 )

Personal life

Ogden graduated from the

Stratton Mountain School The Stratton Mountain School is a college preparatory high school located at Stratton Mountain in Stratton, Vermont. The school was founded in 1972 by Warren Hellman and Donald Tarinelli. The current headmaster is Carson Thurber. Stratton Mount ...

in 2018 and is currently enrolled as a graduate student at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

, where he studies mechanical engineering. When he is not racing in Europe, Ogden lives in Burlington, Vermont with his best friends Phoebe Sweet, Sam Noel and Marielle Ackermann. He also spends his spare time honing his skills on the Kendama. Ogden is a member of the UVM ski team, and he trains with the SMS T2 Team, an elite professional team based in

Stratton Mountain, Vermont Stratton Mountain is a resort community and census-designated place (CDP) in Bennington County, Vermont, Bennington and Windham County, Vermont, Windham counties, Vermont, United States. Sitting at the northern foot of Stratton Mountain (Vermont), ...

when his schedule allows.

References

External links

*
Ben Ogden
at U.S. Ski and Snowboard
Ben Ogden
at

International Ski Federation The ''Fédération internationale de ski et de snowboard'' (FIS; en, International Ski and Snowboard Federation) is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. Founded on 2 February 1924 in Chamonix, France during the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogden, Ben 2000 births Living people American male cross-country skiers Tour de Ski skiers Cross-country skiers at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic cross-country skiers for the United States People from Lebanon, New Hampshire 21st-century American sportsmen