Royal Treatment: Jessie Diggins Becomes First American to be Awarded the Norwegian Holmenkollen Medal

American cross country skier Jessie Diggins became the first American to receive the prestigious Holmenkollen Medal on Saturday, March 9. The Holmenkollen Medal is Norway’s highest skiing honor and is awarded to the best cross country skier of the season across all disciplines.

In the men’s division, Norwegian skier Simen Hegstad Kruger was awarded the Holmenkollen Medal for 2024.

Diggins received her medal from none other than Crown Prince Haakon after Saturday’s Holmenkollen 50 km (31.25 miles) race in Oslo, Norway, in which the U.S. skier came 11th. The 50km event, also simply known as “the Holmenkollen,” was won by Sweden’s Frida Karlsson while teammate Ebba Andersson claimed second and Germany’s Katharina Hennig came third. Women have only been racing the full 50km length since 2023, before that, women competed on a shorter 30km (18.75 miles) course.

Diggins is currently the Cross Country World Cup leader with 2,437 points.

The women’s World Cup continues with city sprints in Drammen, Norway, on Tuesday, March 13.