United States cross-country skier Jessie Diggins left me speechless this morning. Her winning of the bronze medal today in the women’s 10‑kilometer interval start was improbable, gut-wrenching, and heroic. In my long career of sports watching, I have witnessed many courageous and determined athletic feats. One that comes to mind is US gymnast Kerri Strug’s gutsy performance, which helped the US win gold at the 1996 Olympics.
And who could forget Willis Reed playing with a torn thigh muscle, courageously leading his New York Knicks to the 1970 NBA Championship. And then there was Jack Youngblood of the Los Angeles Rams playing through the entire 1979 NFL playoffs on a fractured fibula. After watching Ms. Diggins today, braving out a severe rib injury and still making her way to the podium, she earned her place among these immortal sports performances.
Jessie Diggins’ Olympic Journey
Jessie Diggins entered these, her last Olympics, with a goal of winning a gold medal in an individual cross-country race. She is the most successful US cross-country skier, having won three Olympic medals, three World Cup overall titles, and seven World Championship medals. Of her three Olympic medals, a gold, silver, and bronze, she earned a gold medal with teammate Kikkan Randall in the team sprint at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Before her bronze-winning performance yesterday, Diggins had suffered through a disappointing start to her final Olympics. She finished in eighth place in the 10km + 10km Skiathlon on Saturday, but was involved in a crash that severely damaged her ribs. After the crash, she failed to qualify for the women’s sprint classic quarterfinals on Tuesday, finishing 17th.
She started in 44th position yesterday and was obviously favoring her ribs throughout the race. But digging into what she calls her “pain cave,” she made up valuable time toward the end of the race, collapsing in exhaustion and pain after crossing the finish line. And though she finished 49.7 seconds behind the race winner, Sweden’s Frida Karlsson, she was overjoyed with her third-place finish.
Determination and Inspiration
Speaking before the Olympics, Diggins described her ability to fight through the pain during a race. “I’ve almost never failed to mentally find the will to dig for it. Basically, I ask myself one very simple question. ‘How do I want to feel at the finish line?’ I don’t like living with regrets. I don’t want to ever look back and think ‘What if?”
Cheering her on were her parents, Clay and Debra Diggins, whom Diggins credits with sparking her passion for skiing. One of her supportive teammates, Hailey Swirbul, who was the first to greet Diggins after the race, said this about her teammate. “She’s so tough, she digs deep. I worked as an EMT last winter, and I saw some people in pain for broken bones, and Jessie looked comparable, but she’s okay.”
Finishing the Olympics and Her Career
Diggins is scheduled to compete in three more events during these Olympic Games and said she will continue to race despite her injury. Afterwards, she reiterated that she will retire from competitive skiing this spring after the World Cup Finals in Lake Placid in March.
