Freeman, Wagner ski champs

RUMFORD – Olympic skiers Kris Freeman and Wendy Wagner collected their second gold medals of the Chevy Truck U.S. Cross Country Championships in 20-degree weather Tuesday at Black Mountain.

Freeman, 22, of Andover, N.H., finished the two-lap, 10-kilometer classical technique race in 25 minutes, 6.6 seconds to top his older brother Justin, a Bates College grad who was silver medalist in 25:48.9. Chris Cook was third.

“I skied a solid first lap and didn’t speed up so much as the others dropped off. I skied under control to start and kept up the pace,” said the younger Freeman, who had taken the 30K classic race Saturday despite a storm that dropped nearly a foot of snow in 24 hours.

Wagner, frustrated by a bronze-medal finish Monday in the 5K free technique race, said she started fast and kept up the tempo to the end as she won in 14:28.9. Second place went to Canadian teenager Daria Gaiazova in 14:54.6.