Jessica Diggins (born August 26, 1991) is an American cross-country skier. She and teammate

Kikkan Randall Kikkan Randall (born December 31, 1982) is an American, Olympic champion cross-country skier. She has won 17 U.S. National titles, made 29 podiums on the World Cup, made five trips to the Winter Olympic Games and had the highest finish by an indi ...

won the United States' first ever cross-country skiing gold medal at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

in the

team sprint The team sprint (also sometimes known as the Olympic sprint) is a track cycling event. Despite its name, it is not a conventional cycling sprint event – it is a three-rider team time trial held over three laps of a velodrome. The current men's ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. At the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...

, Diggins won the silver medal in the 30 kilometer freestyle and the bronze medal in the individual sprint, making her the most decorated American cross-country skier of all time. She also won four medals at the

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships is a biennial nordic skiing event organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The World Championships was started in 1925 for men and opened for women's participation in 1954. World Championship e ...

from 2013 to 2017. In 2021, Diggins clinched the top spot in the women's overall standings for the

2020–21 FIS Cross-Country World Cup The 2020–21 FIS Cross-Country World Cup was the 40th official FIS Cross-Country World Cup, World Cup season in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing for men and women. The season began with the Nordic Opening stage event on 27–29 ...

, becoming the first American to do so.

Early life

Diggins was born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

, and grew up in

Afton, Minnesota Afton is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,886 at the 2010 United States Census. It lies on a small bay where Valley Creek empties into the St. Croix River, several miles north of its confluence with ...

. She has one sister, Mackenzie. Diggins began skiing at age 4. She showed prowess for skiing at age 11 when she started competing against older children. Diggins graduated from Stillwater Area High School in 2010.

Athletic career

High school and juniors

Diggins competed for the Stillwater Area High School cross-country ski team. In 2008, Diggins was the top-ranked girls individual cross-country skier in the Minnesota high school rankings. She fell out of the state rankings in 2009 when she competed and won the United States Junior National Sprint title on March 9 of that year. She was added to the United States' World Junior Cross-Country Ski Team in 2010.

Professional

Diggins earned an academic scholarship to

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...

, but deferred enrollment to race with the Central Cross-Country Elite team for one year. She decided to race professionally rather than attend college. She was named to the

United States Ski Team The U.S. Ski Team, operating under the auspices of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, develops and supports men's and women's athletes in the sports of alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, cross-country, ski jumping, and Nordic combined. Since 1974 the team and a ...

in 2011 and competed at her first World Championships that year. Diggins won a gold medal with

in the team sprint in the

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2013 The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2013 took place between 20 February and 3 March 2013 in Val di Fiemme, Italy, for the third time, the event having been hosted there previously in 1991 and 2003. Host selection The 2013 championships had ...

in Val di Fiemme. At the 2014 U23 World Championships, Diggins won silver in the individual sprint. Diggins was named to the U.S. team for the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

. In her first event, the 15 kilometer skiathlon, she placed 8th (out of 61 competitors) with a time of 40:05.5. Diggins won the silver medal in the 10 kilometer freestyle race in the

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2015 The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2015 took place between 18 February and 1 March 2015 in Falun, Sweden. This was the fourth time the event is held there, having previously been held there in 1954, 1974 and 1993. In 1980, one World Ski Cha ...

in Falun. In the 2015–2016 World Cup, she placed 8th in the overall and sprint rankings and 9th in the distance ranking. At the 2017 Nordic World Ski Championships in

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, Diggins took two medals: in the freestyle sprint, she won her quarterfinal and semifinal heats on her way to taking the silver, ahead of teammate Randall in third. Subsequently, in the classic team sprint, Diggins and

Sadie Bjornsen Sadie Maubet Bjornsen (, born November 21, 1989) is a retired American cross-country skier and former member of the United States Ski Team Nordic programs "Cross Country A Team" roster. Her brother Erik Bjornsen is also a cross-country skier. ...

finished third, catching and passing the Swedish team in the closing stages of the race to take the bronze by 0.19 seconds. This made Diggins the first American to win four World Championship medals in cross-country skiing. Diggins finished third overall in the

2017–18 Tour de Ski The 2017–18 Tour de Ski was the 12th edition of the Tour de Ski, part of the 2017–18 FIS Cross-Country World Cup. The World Cup stage event began in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, on December 30, 2017, and ended in Val di Fiemme, Italy, on January 7 ...

, becoming the first American to finish on the podium in the overall classification, and beating her previous best of fifth overall in the previous edition. Her teammate Sadie Bjornsen finished ninth overall, also making it the first time that two Americans finished in the overall top ten. Diggins finished second overall in the World Cup 2017–2018 season standings. At the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Diggins and Randall became the first American cross-country skiers to capture a gold medal by winning the women's team sprint at the Alpensia Cross-Country Centre. In the final sprint, Diggins passed the last two individual sprint classical gold medalists – Sochi gold medalist

Maiken Caspersen Falla Maiken Caspersen Falla (born 13 August 1990) is a Norwegian former cross-country skier who specialized in sprint and short-distance races. She is the 2014 Olympic champion in the individual sprint and three-time Olympic medalist. She became the ...

of Norway before the last turn and then Pyeongchang gold medalist Stina Nilsson of Sweden on the last straightaway. Theirs was not only the United States' first ever cross-country skiing gold medal but also the first American cross-country skiing medal since Bill Koch won silver in the men's 30 km in 1976. Steve Schlanger and

Chad Salmela Chad Salmela is a former member of the U.S. biathlon team from 1990-1998. He currently is an analyst for NBC Olympics' biathlon and cross-country skiing. Salmela has been an analyst for NBC since the 2006 Winter Olympics. Formerly, he was an a ...

called the end of the race for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

: Diggins competed in all six women's cross-country skiing events at the Olympics and finished in the top 10 in all of them. At the end of the games, she was the flag bearer for the United States in the

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

. Diggins won the 2021 Tour de Ski, a first for an American. She placed atop the overall World Cup 2020–2021 season standings, claiming the biggest annual prize in cross-country skiing. Diggins' victory put her with Koch, who won the men's title in 1982, to be the only Americans to win overall season titles for a World Cup cross-country ski circuit. At the

, Diggins won bronze in the women's sprint to become the first American to win an individual Olympic medal in a cross-country sprint. She went on to win silver in the women's 30 kilometer freestyle, earning the U.S.'s last medal on the last day of the Olympics. She was the first non-European to win a medal in the event. Diggins left Beijing as the most decorated American cross-country skier of all time. For the second straight Olympics, she finished in the top 10 in all six women's cross-country skiing events. In December 2022 Diggins broke the American record for World Cup cross-country ski wins, with her fourteenth such win.

Social activism

Diggins is an ambassador for the non-profit organization Fast and Female, which works to inspire girls from ages 8–18 to be active and empowered in sports. Diggins is also an ambassador for the non-profit organization Protect Our Winters (POW), whose aim is to effect systemic solutions to climate change through the outdoor sports community. Diggins travelled with POW to Capitol Hill in April 2018 to raise concerns over climate change. In 2019, Diggins became a spokesperson for the Emily Program, an organization in the United States that provides treatment for

eating disorders An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. Only one eating disorder can be diagnosed at a given time. Types of eating disorders include binge eating ...

. In several interviews and essays, she revealed her experience of seeking treatment for

bulimia Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eate ...

at the organization in 2010, with the aim of her story to improve self-acceptance and reduce stigma and secrecy around eating disorders. In 2020, Diggins wrote an autobiography, ''Brave Enough'', about her athletic accomplishments and personal struggles with bulimia as a teenager.

Cross-country skiing results

Olympic Games

* 3 medals – (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)

World Championships

*4 medals – (1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)

World Cup

Season titles

* 2 titles – (1 overall, 1 distance)

Season standings

Individual podiums

*14 victories – (6 , 8 ) *43 podiums – (21 , 22 )

Team podiums

*2 victories – (1 , 1 ) *9 podiums – (6 , 3 )

US National Championships medals

:2011 – Rumford, Maine 1st, sprint freestyle :2011 – Sun Valley, Idaho 3rd, 30 km classic mass start :2012 – Rumford, Maine 1st, sprint freestyle :2012 – Rumford, Maine 1st, 10 km freestyle :2012 – Rumford, Maine 1st, 20 km classic mass start :2012 – Rumford, Maine 2nd, sprint classic :2012 – Craftsbury, Vermont 2nd, 30 km freestyle mass start :2016 – Craftsbury, Vermont 1st, 30 km freestyle mass start :2018 – Craftsbury, Vermont 1st, 30 km freestyle mass start

Bibliography

* Diggins, Jessie and Smith, Todd (2020). ''Brave Enough''.

References

External links

* * * * NBC Sports, 2018 Winter Olympics
Diggins and Randall
win women's cross-country team sprint
Interview with Jessie Diggins
International Ski Federation, retrieved October 4, 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:Diggins, Jessie 1991 births Living people American female cross-country skiers Cross-country skiers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in cross-country skiing Olympic silver medalists for the United States in cross-country skiing Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in cross-country skiing Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2022 Winter Olympics FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in cross-country skiing Tour de Ski winners People from Washington County, Minnesota Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota Writers from Saint Paul, Minnesota 21st-century American women