Anchorage cross-country skier Gus Schumacher won a silver medal Wednesday at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic games, after racing a near-perfect anchor leg in the team sprint event.
Paired with teammate Ben Ogden from Vermont, Schumacher challenged Norwegian superstar Johannes Klæbo on the last climb of the six-lap race and finished just ahead of Italy.
It’s Schumacher’s first Olympic medal, and he said he was dialed in nearly all the way to the finish line to claim it.
“I think I did a good job of not thinking too, like, results-wise until, you know, I could see Ben on the other side there and knew I had space,” he said. “I’m really proud of how I just sort of skied with abandon in a way, because when I’m skiing free I’m the best.”
Schumacher is 25 years old and grew up in Alaska and has dreamed about the Olympics for most of his life.
He became the first American to win a gold medal in an individual race at the Junior World Ski Championships in 2020. Then in 2024, he became the youngest American to win a World Cup cross-country ski race. Schumacher was one of eight Alaska Nordic skiers competing in this year’s Olympics.
Schumacher raced against Ogden on the U.S. circuit starting at a young age. They’ve since become close friends and are rooming together in Italy, where Ogden also won a silver in the individual sprint race.
Schumacher said that history made it particularly special to stand on the podium alongside Ogden. There’s a whole community that makes a result like an Olympic medal possible, he said.
“Amazing to cross that line and celebrate with Ben, and then just like everyone who’s helped us along the way. Like, my parents are here, and the whole wax staff, and the staff in general, and coaches and everything,” Schumacher said. “It means a lot to all of us.”
Schumacher and his coach Erik Flora say they’re delighted to get home and share the medal with teammates, friends and other Alaskans.