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Diggins Makes History With Olympic Cross-Country Skiing Medal
The Stillwater High School grad won a bronze medal Tuesday, the first for an American woman in an individual cross-country skiing event.
WASHINGTON COUNTY, MN — Washington County native Jessie Diggins bolstered her reputation as a history-maker Tuesday as she earned a medal in cross-country skiing at the Beijing Olympics.
Diggins, 30, took home the bronze medal in the freestyle sprint, her second Olympic medal and the first for an American woman in an individual cross-country skiing event.
The Stillwater High School graduate — who the New York Times called “the unquestioned leader of the American men’s and women’s teams" — finished less than a half-second behind silver-medal winner Maja Dahlqvist, of Sweden.
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After winning the bronze medal, Diggins penned an Instagram post to thank her coaches, team, family, friends and fans “who are there for the bad times as well as the good times.”
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“This moment belongs to all of you — and it only happened BECAUSE of you,” Diggins wrote. “My heart is bursting! Feeling all the love and most of all just grateful to have such an amazing team to celebrate with.”
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Diggins also spoke with the hosts of the "Today" show, where she paid tribute to the “generations” of U.S. skiers, coaches and others for “setting the stage and helping us get to this point.”
“It's so special and so exciting because I really feel like this medal really belongs to the entire team,” Diggins said. “It’s taken so many people to give us this opportunity.”
Diggins made her second appearance on the Olympic podium Tuesday.
She and teammate Kikkan Randall shocked many skiing fans as they won gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics in the women’s team cross-country sprint.
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They were the first Americans to win a gold medal in cross-country skiing and the first to earn any medal in the sport since the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.
Click here to watch Diggins win bronze in the women's cross-country skiing freestyle sprint.
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