NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
American Olympian Jessie Diggins pushed as hard as she could across the finish line in the women’s cross-country skiing 10-kilometer freestyle and grabbed a bronze medal at the Winter Olympics on Thursday.
Diggins, battling bruised ribs, tried to get on the podium between Swedish and Norwegian skiers. She endured the pain and fell to the ground.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Jessie Diggins of the United States falls to the ground after crossing the finish line of the cross-country women’s 10 km free start at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Tesero, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
She writhed in pain just after crossing the line. The NBC broadcast heard Diggins yelling as her teammate tried to help her as she tried to catch her breath. Diggins did it for the love of the sport and can now call himself an Olympic medalist. She crossed the line in 23.38.90.
Sweden’s Frida Karlsson had the top time of 22:49.20 and finished 46.6 seconds ahead of Sweden’s Ebba Andersson. Norway’s Astria Oeyre Slind was a good 3 seconds behind Diggins.
AMERICAN OLYMPIAN JORDAN STOLZ SETS OLYMPIC RECORD, CAPTURES GOLD IN 1,000 METERS
Jessie Diggins of the United States and Hailey Swirbul of the United States react after the race on February 12, 2026. (REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach)
It’s the first medal for Team USA on the day, as the United States looked to be tied with Italy and Norway in the overall medal standings.
Diggins was a silver medalist at the 2022 Beijing Olympics in the event. She also had a bronze in the individual sprint at those Games. Diggins was part of the gold medal-winning team sprint at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
She can still pick up more medals with the classic 50-meter race and the upcoming 4×7.5-kilometer relay.
Jessie Diggins of the USA and Krista Parmakoski of Finland in action on February 12, 2026. (REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
Diggins and American Ben Ogden are now medalists in the sport. Ogden won a silver in the men’s classic sprint earlier this week.
