Ben Ogden Breaks Through

02/03/23 • 54 min

It’s been a minute! With the arrival of host Rachel Perkins’ second baby in July and a subsequent job shift, Nordic Nation has been on pause, but we are excited to relaunch now with the hope of producing these regularly over the coming months!

Our first guest of 2023 is the one and only Ben Ogden, who’s had a standout season of racing on the World Cup. Ben has cracked into the semifinals in four sprint races, while posting breakthrough results in distance racing also, like a 6th place finish in the 10k classic in Oberstdorf during the Tour de Ski. He finished the overall Tour in 13th, which is an historic result for the American men’s team. Following the Tour, he headed back home to Vermont, where he hopped into two EISA Carnival weekends – winning four for four – while wearing his UVM Catamounts kit for the final time. He returned to Europe in time for the Les Rousses, where Ben qualified in 7th for the classic sprint, finishing 11th after a quick trip outside the V-board in the semis.

In this conversation, we discuss the factors that have contributed to his development as a professional skier, from mindset, to training, to an effort to make the World Cup lifestyle sustainable long term. We also discuss his recent trip back to the Northeast, what has made collegiate racing “special”, and more.

Thanks for listening!

Thanks for listening!

Previous Episode

Rebounding From Setbacks and Gaining Momentum with Julia Kern

At 24-years-old, Julia Kern is quickly becoming a seasoned veteran in her 7th year on the U.S. Ski Team. However, her career trajectory has been stepwise, not exponential.

After making breakthroughs during the 2019-20 season, including her first World Cup podium in a skate sprint in Planica, Slovenia, she faced injuries and setbacks heading into the following season in 2020-2021, leaving her walking away from that season feeling disappointed in both her World Cup and World Championship racing. Reflecting on her takeaways in an interview that summer, she said “Progress isn’t linear from season to season.”

Recently named the recipient of the US Nordic Olympic Women’s Gold Rush Award for her grit and grace as a professional skier, Julia has demonstrated what it takes to rebound, reframe, and move past these challenges. As she describes in this conversation, the start of Julia’s 2021-22 race season happened in fits and starts – some strong early-season results with promising body sensations followed by a series of untimely mild illnesses. After catching a cold midway through the Tour de Ski in early January, she suddenly was faced with the reality that she would not have any opportunities to race until arriving in Zhangjiakou for the Olympics over a month later – the longest race break of her career.

Her first Olympic appearance took place in the opening event, the 15 k skiathlon, where Julia finished 53rd. The individual freestyle sprint three days later was her goal race; Julia qualified in 14th and raced a gutsy quarterfinal, ultimately finishing fourth in the heat and 18th overall on the day. A myriad of factors left her wanting more from this first Olympic experience, though she approached it without placing high expectations on herself.

Rebounding once more after the Games, Julia began a tear of World Cup sprints in Period IV. She was 8th in the freestyle sprint in Lahti, 7th in the classic sprint the following week in Drammen, and finished just off the podium in fourth in the World Cup Finals in Falun. From there, she headed to Whistler to finish the season at the joint Canadian National Championships and US SuperTour Finals, where she took second to Jessie Diggins in Jessie’s signature 5 k freestyle event, and won the remaining three races.

During this conversation, Julia discusses the highs and lows of the season, as well as how she has been able to compartmentalize and move past setbacks over the past few years of navigating the transition to the World Cup. We also discuss her start in the sport, why the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 Team has been a good fit for her, and how leaning into other creative outlets, passions and work helps energize her for the long haul.

Thanks for listening and thanks to New Moon Bike and Ski for supporting this podcast.

Next Episode

Hailey Swirbul: Prioritizing mental health and rediscovering passion

In this episode, we chat with Hailey Swirbul, who took an alternate path to the World Cup this season, prioritizing her own mental health and aiming to rediscover her love for cross-country skiing along the way. Listen in to hear her discuss the challenges she's faced in transitioning into a professional athlete, along with how the Olympic experience contrasted the Olympic fantasy. She also discusses difference in summer training this year, highlights from domestic racing in period one and two, including a sweep of US Nationals in Houghton, and more. Thanks for listening.