Team USA is proving that world-class skiing doesn’t require PFAS wax

Coming into the Milan-Cortina Olympics, an American hadn’t won a medal in men’s cross-country skiing in half a century. A few days into the Games, though, Vermonter Ben Ogden squeaked through the classic sprint semifinals. Suddenly there was hope. In the final, Ogden pushed across the Tesero Stadium finish line in second — breaking the drought.

Asked afterward if he thought it might take another 50 years for the next podium, he said no. Five days later, he and Gus Schumacher made good...