MILAN — Team USA will have to wait a little longer for its first medal.
U.S. cross-country skier Jessie Diggins finished in eighth place in the women’s 10km + 10km skiathlon on Saturday, her first event of the 2026 Winter Olympics. Diggins recorded a time of 56:06.3 after suffering a ‘big crash’ on the first lap, finishing more than two seconds off the new Olympic champion, Frida Karlsson of Sweden.
‘I was really really proud of my skate half. I am in the best shape of my life and I was super encouraged by my skis in my skate half,’ said Diggins, who donned blue sparkles on her cheeks as part of her pre-race tradition. ‘There’s so many variables that need to come together. In the classic half, things didn’t come together. I had a really big crash on the first lap, that didn’t help.’
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Every skier starts at the same time in the skiathlon, which was extended from a total distance of 15km at the 2022 Beijing Games to 20km in Milan. Diggins started the race in the first position with the No. 1 bib, but got caught in some downhill traffic on the first lap and fell alongside several other racers. Diggins immediately returned to her skis and continued on, but the crash cost her valuable time that she wasn’t able to recover.
‘It’s really hard to have all the puzzle pieces come together in the way you need them to and we’re gonna keep working on it and we’re gonna get it right,’ said Diggins, who added she’s ‘super proud’ of her team. ‘But I’m gonna keep giving it everything I have and I’m really proud of myself for not giving up and fighting back.’
Karlsson grabbed the Swedish flag before crossing the finish line with a time of 53:45.2 at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Val di Fiemmeto to earn her first individual Olympic gold. Sweden’s Ebba Andersson won silver with a time of 54:36.2 and Norway’s Heidi Weng won bronze at 55:11.9 to make Norway the winningest nation in women’s cross-country skiing in Olympic history.
Diggins was among four Americans competing in the skiathlon, joining Rosie Brennan, Julia Kern and Novie McCabe. Kern finished in 19th place (58:02.4), McCabe finished 26th (58:06.1) and Brennan finished in 37th place (1:00:06.0).
Diggins may have fallen short of the podium, but her result on Saturday continued her previous streak of finishing in the top 10 in all six women’s events in both the 2018 and 2022 Games. She finished in sixth place in the 7.5km + 7.5km skiathlon at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
‘I am really encouraged by the shape that I’m in and all the hard work that’s gone into this and the mindset mentality,’ added Diggins. ‘I’m just really, really excited to have more changes and hopefully all the puzzle pieces come together.’
Diggins will be back on the snow Tuesday for the women’s cross-country skiing sprint classic event, where she’s a medal contender. The 34-year-old became the first American to win an individual sprint medal with a bronze-medal finish in Beijing in 2022.
Diggins won Team USA’s first Olympic gold in cross country in team sprint alongside Kikkan Randall at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. Diggins won a silver in the 30k freestyle at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Cross-country skiing is divided by technique: classic and free. In the classic technique, the skier glides along tracks etched in the snow, while in the free technique, the skier makes lateral movements relative to the direction of travel. Skiers start using the classic technique, before switching to free at the halfway point.
This Games marks the first time in Olympic history that the men and women’s will race the same distances.
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