Ben Ogden, 25, won silver in men’s cross-country skiing at the Milan Cortina Games on Tuesday, and he’s celebrating by unwinding with his favorite hobby — knitting.
“It’s a great way to relax,” Ogden told The Guardian on Tuesday. “It won’t be easy to come down and try to fall asleep tonight. After a day like today, my knitting needles are probably waiting for me.”
Ogden’s podium finish ended a five-decade Olympic medal drought for the US in men’s cross-country skiing. The last medal came when fellow Vermonter Bill Koch won silver at the 1976 Innsbruck Games.
“It’s an unbelievable dream come true,” Ogden said. “Everybody who races dreams of being on an Olympic podium. Last year I really dared to set my expectations on an Olympic medal. Every day in training I thought about how I could get better and be the best version of myself on this course.”
When the racing ends, Ogden turns to yarn and needles to decompress. At a press conference last week, Ogden said he even arranged for extra yarn to be shipped in during the Games so he wouldn’t run out.
“I have gotten really into knitting recently. So far, I’ve knit a hat and a sweater this season. I’m really fired about it,” he said, per Reuters. “I brought all kinds of yarn. I actually ordered some, so hopefully it’ll get here from Iceland.”
He said his latest project is a pair of mittens featuring French historical figure Joan of Arc.
“For me, it’s a pretty awesome way to just, like, relax. I really crave the ability to make things. That’s something that I have when I’m home and I didn’t have when I’m here until now,” Ogden said.
Ogden isn’t the only one on the US cross-country skiing team who enjoys knitting. His teammate, Jessie Diggins, also showed off a sweater she knitted on her Instagram in January.
It’s not just a Winter Games pastime either — British diver Tom Daley went viral for knitting in the stands during the Tokyo Olympics.
“One thing that has kept me sane throughout this whole process is my love for knitting and crochet and all things stitching,” Daley said in a 2021 Instagram post, adding that he picked up the hobby during the pandemic.
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