Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Ben Ogden snagged second in Tuesday's sprint classic to capture the first Olympic cross-country skiing medal for an American man in 50 years.
The Vermonter clocked a 3:40.61, finishing just behind first-place Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, who won his third consecutive gold medal in the event. Fellow Norwegian Oskar Opstad Vike took the bronze medal with a time of 3:46.55 in Lago, Italy.
Ogden's second-place finish resulted in the first cross-country skiing medal for an American man since Bill Koch finished second in the 50k classic at the 1976 Winter Olympics. Koch and Ogden are the only American men in history to medal in Olympic cross-country skiing.
With his victory, Klaebo now owns nine Olympic medals, including seven gold medals. He picked up his first of two gold medals at this Olympics with a victory in Sunday's skiathlon.
Alpine skiers Paula Moltzan and Jacqueline Wiles earned bronze in Tuesday's women's team combined, edging favored fellow Americans Mikaela Shiffrin and Breezy Johnson. Alex Hall also picked up a medal for the Americans on Day 4 with a second-place finish in the men's freeski slopestyle.
