TESERO, Italy (AP) — Jessie Diggins crossed the line Sunday as she has done so often over 15 years on the world stage — with the tank entirely empty.
Collapsed on the snow with her chest heaving, Diggins ended a 50-kilometer race in fifth place — just a few seconds shy of one more medal.
“If you had told me even a year ago, I’d be in the fight for a bronze medal in a 50k classic, I would not have believed you,” she said. "I can confidently say I could
not possibly have tried harder or gotten more out of my body.”
It marked the final Olympic event for an athlete who transformed American cross‑country skiing and became a symbol of endurance.
With glitter still streaked across her cheeks, the world’s top‑ranked women’s cross country skier said she was thankful for all the people who had helped her reach this stage in a career that started while she was still at high school in Minnesota.
“I am full of gratitude, joy and love and it’s just been so special. It’s taken so much work from so many people to get me here," she said. “I’m really happy with how I’m leaving it because it was an amazing last Olympics.”
The 34-year-old Diggins won the United States’ first-ever Olympic gold medal in cross-country skiing with team sprint partner Kikkan Randall at PyeongChang in 2018, adding a silver and bronze at the Beijing Games four years later.
At Milan Cortina, she again raced to a podium position, finishing third in the 10-kilometer interval start despite suffering painful rib bruising from a crash in her opening race.
Her farewell took place at an Olympics dominated in cross-country skiing by Sweden’s women.
Diggins hung in the lead group with eventual gold medalist Ebba Andersson, of Sweden, but fell behind when she took a spill after changing her skis at the start of the third lap.
She pushed through serious muscle cramps in the second half of the race to be in a chase group that could never close the big gap behind Andersson, or catch second-place finisher, Norway’s Heidi Weng, but were all in a battle for third.
On the final climb, the wax on Diggins' skis couldn't seem to hold the grip necessary for her to pass Switzerland’s Nadja Kaelin, who won bronze.
The American’s legacy extends beyond results.
Diggins said she will continue to campaign for climate change awareness, as registered by dwindling snowfall globally, and to support people coping with eating disorders.
"I’m just so proud of being gritty and being able to give my best and not just in a bib, off the snow as well, doing what I need to do to be a good human and try to make the world a little bit better,” she said.
In Italy, she also leaned into levity — joining choreographed dances with younger U.S. teammates in online posts.
As a senior figure on the team, she has paired intensity with openness, encouraging younger athletes to race fiercely but stay grounded.
Although this was her final Olympic appearance, Diggins still has a mission in her final competitive season. The most decorated cross‑country skier in U.S. history leaves Italy still focused on the World Cup season.
Holding the overall lead, she will return to the circuit in the coming days to pursue another crystal globe, with final races this season taking place March 19-22 in Lake Placid, New York.
Ronn Randall, the father of her gold-medal teammate, Kikkan, had come from Alaska to watch the Olympics and was impressed by the effort Diggins still pours into each event.
“She seems to have the attitude that she wants to take part in all these like one last time and really give it one last shot,” he said. “I don’t know whether she’s going to come away sad because she didn’t win races or didn’t get a medal or whether she’s just going to be happy that she gave absolutely every bit she could in the given situation.”
With the optimism Diggins exudes, she'd probably say the latter.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
