TESERO, Italy (AP) — Ebba Andersson pulled away from the pack to win the 50-kilometer mass start cross-country ski race Sunday that served as redemption for her disastrous crash that cost Sweden a gold medal in the team relay at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Norway’s Heidi Weng, who was in the foursome that seized the gold from Sweden in the relay, won silver and Switzerland’s Nadja Kaelin got the bronze.
“I’ve dreamed about this day for a long time now
and it’s almost unbelievable that everything went as planned," the 28-year-old Andersson said. "Even though I had believed in myself it’s something else when it works out in reality.”
U.S. star Jessie Diggins was in a group of five that sprinted for the bronze, but she couldn’t keep up with her rivals on the final climb and collapsed in the snow after crossing in fifth place in the final Olympic race of her career.
“It was just a really gritty race,” Diggins said. “Literally every muscle in my body started cramping with three laps to go. So, I can confidently say I could not possibly have tried harder or gotten more out of my body.”
Diggins was in the lead group with Andersson, Weng and Austria’s Teresa Stadlober for the first lap, but then fell off the pace after taking a spill when she changed skis after the second lap. She was in a group of chasers that fought for third.
The 34-year-old Diggins will retire later this year as the most decorated U.S. cross-country skier — with a team gold from 2018 Pyeongchang Games, an individual silver and bronze from Beijing 2022 and a bronze medal in Italy in the 10-kilometer interval freestyle race.
Andersson's medal was the fifth cross-country gold for Sweden, which won every women's cross-country ski event here except for the 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay. In addition to the team silver, Andersson also won a pair of individual silvers in the skiathlon and the 10-kilometer interval start.
Both those races were won by Sweden's Frida Karlsson, who was sick and did not race in the final cross-country event of the Olympics. Teammate Jonna Sundling, who placed second in the women’s sprint and won the team sprint for Sweden together with Maja Dahlqvist, was also out with a cold, Swedish ski federation spokeswoman Ulrika Sterner told The Associated Press.
Karlsson and Sundling were teamed up with Andersson in the Swedish team that won silver in the relay.
Andersson said the gold was especially sweet after her three silvers.
“That’s the point with sports: sometimes you lose and sometimes you win, it’s both ups and downs," she said. “You just need to be patient in everything and trust the process, and that’s what I’ve been doing the past week.”
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
