For Vermonters returning to everyday routines after the escape of the 2026 Winter Olympics, take heart: Medal winners with ties to the Green Mountain State also have to go back to the grind.
“So soon, like so soon,” Mikaela Shiffrin, a graduate of Burke Mountain Academy, told NBC of most skiers’ plans to move from the just-concluded games in Italy to ongoing World Cup races elsewhere in Europe.
Shiffrin and fellow skiing medalists Ryan Cochran-Siegle, Jessie Diggins, Mac Forehand, Paula Moltzan and Ben Ogden may deserve homecoming celebrations for their seven collective podium finishes, but international Alpine and Nordic schedules will keep most athletes on the road until well into March.
“We’re, like, ready to get back to the World Cup and take care of business,” said Shiffrin, 30, who won gold in Italy as fellow Alpine racers Cochran-Siegle, 33, of Starksboro scored silver and Moltzan, 31, of Waitsfield snagged bronze.
In cross-country skiing, Stratton-trained bronze-winner Diggins, 34, and two-time silver medalist Ogden, 26, of Landgrove will return to the United States in about a month to compete in Nordic finals March 19-22 in Lake Placid, New York.
“I cried when we left town because it’s been an amazing time,” Diggins told NBC on Sunday after traveling from the Italian ski venue to the closing ceremony in Milan.
Ogden, for his part, woke up sick over the weekend and will “rest and recover before the last four weeks of World Cup racing,” the U.S. team said in a statement.
Back in Vermont, friends and family are still marveling at the collective medal count, which would place the state 14th on the global list (just above Australia and Finland) if it was a country.
At the private grade 7-12 Stratton Mountain School, students and supporters followed the games from the alma mater of Forehand and Ogden and home of the SMS T2 elite cross-country training team co-founded by Bill Koch, the first American to win a Nordic medal.
“All of them are great competitors,” Koch told VTDigger about Stratton’s Olympic athletes, “but what I love even more is what outstanding people they are. All show that balance, integrity, and hard work can lead to success.”
Koch noted Diggins’ efforts with The Emily Program for people with eating disorders and the Protect Our Winters project addressing climate change.
“These missions will be making an impact long after any race,” Koch said.
At the private grade 8-12 Burke Mountain Academy, students have risen before dawn to watch live coverage of races featuring not only Shiffrin but also other alumni competing for Andorra, Australia, Canada and Chile.
“There’s been a lot of excitement,” Burke spokesperson Meryl Willett said. “It’s a real-life lesson in what it is to be a competitive athlete.”
In the small Bennington County hamlet of Landgrove, where Ogden’s mother Andrea works as treasurer, assistant clerk and trustee of public funds, the municipal office is offering the Olympian congratulations on its website alongside notices for Town Meeting, dog licenses and dump stickers.
In Richmond, Cochran’s Ski Area tapped Facebook to remind family member Cochran-Siegle that “a few weeks ago you were at the hill doing training runs with the kids. Now you’re back on top of the world’s biggest stage. We couldn’t be more proud. Have a blast. Can’t wait to celebrate when you come home!”
Then again, not everyone is thinking about parties or parades. Forehand, for example, wants to do something different.
“Nothing, absolutely nothing,” the 24-year-old Winhall big-air skier told NBC. “Not unpack, just sit on my couch and chill.”
