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Jessie Diggins’s farewell Olympics began with a crash and a scramble on Saturday, the trailblazing star of American cross-country skiing fighting back to finish eighth in the women’s skiathlon as Sweden delivered a commanding one-two in the first cross-country skiing race of the Milano Cortina Games.
Frida Karlsson powered to gold ahead of teammate Ebba Andersson, with Norway’s Heidi Weng taking bronze, as the first Olympic women’s skiathlon contested over the new 20km distance quickly turned into a test of endurance, conditions and survival.
For Diggins, the world’s No 1-ranked cross-country skier and widely viewed as one of the pre-race favorites, the race unraveled early. During the opening lap of the classical section, Finland’s Vilma Nissinen fell on a downhill turn, triggering congestion in the pack. In the chaos, Diggins tumbled with Norway’s Karoline Simpson-Larsen and was forced into heavy traffic as the race began to stretch apart.
“My tip just disappeared in the slush and unfortunately it was a tough spot where you lose all your momentum,” Diggins said. “A lot of things out of my control just didn’t work out for me today, but that’s OK. I’m really proud of my heart and my grit and the amount of energy and commitment I put into this, not just today but every day.”
At one stage Diggins was as low as 14th place and facing a long solo effort to reconnect with the leaders, particularly with the Swedish team driving a relentless pace from the front. By the halfway transition she was already chasing a race that was slipping away.
Karlsson and Andersson had raced tightly together through the classic portion in a lead group dominated by Scandinavian skiers, before breaking the race open early in the freestyle segment. Karlsson proved untouchable from there, clocking 53min 45sec and finishing 51 seconds clear of Andersson, with enough time to grab a Swedish flag before crossing the line alone. Andersson finished in 54:36 and Weng in 55:11 after a late push secured bronze.
Karlsson said the scale of the moment only fully registered late in the race.
“That was the moment when it hit me. I was like, OK, this is for real,” she said. “I had so much fun out there today and I am really proud of my whole team who have made this happen. The skis were super and the body felt amazing.
“In the home straight, I kind of understood that I would win. It feels so nice to do it this way, with the team.”
The race was contested on wet, energy-sapping snow under cloud cover on the Dolomite course at Tesero Cross-Country Stadium, with temperatures around 41F (5C), light winds and heavy humidity adding another layer of difficulty. Karlsson, 26, looked at ease in the conditions, executing a flawless ski exchange and steadily distancing the field. The victory marked her first individual Olympic medal after winning a relay bronze at the Beijing Games.
“We’ve worked hard for many years and I’ve found my way forward together with my coach,” Karlsson said. “I’ve never been as much in love with skiing as I am now. This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment.”
Diggins produced a trademark fightback once the race shifted to freestyle, her strongest discipline. The Minnesota native clawed back positions over the second half of the race to finish eighth, 2min 21sec behind Karlsson and 55 seconds off the podium, still emerging as the top US finisher after what could easily have become a far more difficult result.
“The crash wasn’t that big of a deal to me,” said Diggins, whose famous 2018 team sprint gold with Kikkan Randall marked the first Olympic title in US cross-country skiing history. “Yes, I did lose some time but that wasn’t the bigger problem today, so I just kept focusing on: ‘Stay calm, work your way back and ski the best you can ski.’”
Saturday’s race also marked a historic shift for the sport. For the first time in Olympic history, men and women contested equal 20km skiathlon distances, with athletes racing 10km in classic technique before switching equipment mid-race for 10km of freestyle. The event opened a cross-country program that will feature 12 medal races over the course of the Games.
The result was a brutal introduction to Diggins’s final Olympic campaign after the 34-year-old announced she will retire at the end of the season, calling time on a 15-year career that has completely recalibrated expectations for American cross-country skiing. The most decorated US cross-country skier in history, Diggins arrived in Milan leading the World Cup standings and fresh off a dominant Tour de Ski, framing the Olympics as a chance to race with freedom and perspective.
Saturday did not unfold as planned. But her recovery to finish inside the top 10 – after losing contact with the leaders in the opening minutes – served as an early reminder of the resilience that has defined her career.
“I’m in the best shape of my life and my body felt really good, but there’s a lot of things that need to come together for a good ski race to happen,” Diggins said. “There’s a lot of puzzle pieces that need to lock into place and I was really encouraged by the skate [freestyle] half, but the classic half, the things out of my control did not go very well.”
Diggins, who is expected to compete in all six women’s events on the cross-country slate, will have further chances to add to her career haul of three Olympic medals before bringing her career to a close on home snow at the World Cup finals next month in Lake Placid.
