Olympics
Bronze might not glitter like gold, but on Thursday, February 12, in Tesero, Italy, it shone just as bright.
At the Tesero Cross-Country Stadium in Val di Fiemme, Jessie Diggins added another chapter to her legendary career, battling through bruised ribs to claim bronze in the women’s 10k skate at the Milano Cortina Olympics. The medal is her fourth Olympic podium and the first ever won by an American in the 10k event.
Up front, it was a Swedish masterclass. Frida Karlsson stormed to her second gold of the Games in 22:49.2, finishing a massive 46 seconds ahead of teammate Ebba Andersson, who took silver. Diggins crossed the line in 23:38.9, 49.7 seconds back of Karlsson and just four seconds shy of silver.
It was a bluebird day in Val di Fiemme, with firm, fast snow thanks to pre-race salting and grandstands packed with fans. More than 100 athletes took to the rolling Tesero course, but it quickly became clear that Karlsson was skiing on another level. “It was good fun,” Karlsson said in an interview with FIS after the race. “I just felt like I was bursting with energy out there. I felt like I was being carried along by the crowd. I didn’t really feel the pain until I crossed the line.”
By 1.8km she already had a two-second advantage on Andersson, and the gap only grew from there. “It’s a crazy gap. She’s from another world these days,” Andersson said afterward in her FIS interview. Still, Andersson was satisfied with another silver behind her teammate, adding she was “really impressed with the speed Frida had out in the tracks.”
Behind the Swedes, Diggins was digging deep. Skiing with rib pain that left her clutching her side after collapsing at the finish, Diggins paced her race carefully, staying within striking distance through the early splits before emptying the tank in the final kilometers. Her coaches lined the course, feeding her time checks every few hundred meters. “Today, I went into the race with a mantra of: ‘Focus on what I could do right now. Focus on what I could do in the moment,’” Diggins said to U.S. Ski & Snowboard.
That focus paid off. “I’m the happiest bronze medallist in the world,” she told FIS. “I’m so grateful for everyone getting me here. It’s taken a serious team effort to get to the start line and a lot of help once I got to the finish line, because I’ve been in a lot of pain.”
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For Team USA, the day started earlier with Kendall Kramer, called up as first alternate just 24 hours prior, making her Olympic debut and finishing 38th. Hailey Swirbul placed 39th and Novie McCabe narrowly missed the top 30 in 31st.
Diggins now owns four Olympic medals: gold in the team sprint with Kikkan Randall at PyeongChang 2018, silver and bronze in Beijing 2022, and now bronze in Milano Cortina. Competing in her final Olympic Games, she continues to redefine what longevity looks like in American cross-country skiing.
Meanwhile, Karlsson’s dominance rolls on. After also winning the skiathlon earlier in the week, she credited pacing advice from seven-time Olympic champion Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo. “He was really clear with me on how to set the pace and I tried to listen to him,” Karlsson said in her post-race interview with FIS. “So I will thank him for that.”
While Sweden proved untouchable up top, Jessie Diggins proved that toughness, heart, and a little pain tolerance can still land you on the Olympic podium.
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