Jessie Diggins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States | August 26, 1991|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ski club | Stratton Mountain School | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Cup career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seasons | 15 – (2011–present) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indiv. starts | 316 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indiv. podiums | 62 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indiv. wins | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team starts | 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team podiums | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team wins | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Overall titles | 2 – (2021 & 2024) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Discipline titles | 2 – (DI in 2021 & 2024) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Updated on 8 December 2024. |
Jessica Diggins (born August 26, 1991) is an American cross-country skier. She is the most accomplished cross-country skier from the United States in the sport's history having won two World Cup overall titles, three Olympic medals, six World Championship medals, and numerous other event championships. Diggins has used her status as a famous athlete to advance advocacy related to climate change and eating disorders. [2] [3]
Diggins and teammate Kikkan Randall won the United States' first-ever cross-country skiing gold medals with a team sprint victory at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang [4] [5] At the 2022 Winter Olympics, Diggins won the silver medal in the 30 kilometer freestyle and the bronze medal in the individual sprint, making her the most decorated American cross-country skier of all time.
Diggins has also won six medals, including two golds, at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, from 2013 to 2023. She was the first American to win an individual event gold medal by winning the 10 km freestyle in 2023. Diggins has competed in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup since 2011. In 2021, Diggins won the women's overall title for the 2020–21 FIS Cross-Country World Cup, becoming the first American woman to win a season title and the first American to win one since Bill Koch in 1982. [6] She again won the overall title for the 2023–24 FIS Cross-Country World Cup. [7]
Jessica "Jessie" Diggins was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and grew up in Afton, Minnesota. [8] She has one sister, Mackenzie. [9] Diggins began skiing at age 4. [10] She showed prowess for skiing at age 11 when she started competing against older children. [10] Diggins graduated from Stillwater Area High School in 2010. [8]
Diggins competed for the Stillwater Area High School, cross-country ski team. In 2008, Diggins was the top-ranked girls' individual cross-country skier in the Minnesota high school rankings. [11] She won the Korteloppet races in 2008 and 2009 as part of the American Birkebeiner festival in Wisconsin while she was still in high school. [12] She fell out of the Minnesota high school rankings in 2009 when she competed and won the United States Junior National Sprint title on March 9 of that year. [13] She was added to the United States World Junior Cross-Country Ski Team in 2010. [14]
Diggins earned an academic scholarship to Northern Michigan University but deferred enrollment to race with the Central Cross-Country Elite team for one year. She decided to race professionally rather than attend college. She was named to the United States Ski Team in 2011 [15] and competed at her first World Championships that year. [5]
Diggins won a gold medal with Kikkan Randall in the team sprint in the 2013 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme. [5] At the 2014 U23 World Championships, Diggins won silver in the individual sprint. Diggins was named to the U.S. team for the 2014 Winter Olympics. In her first event, the 15 kilometer skiathlon, she placed 8th (out of 61 competitors) with a time of 40:05.5. [16]
Diggins won the silver medal in the 10-kilometer freestyle race in the 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun. [5] In the 2015–2016 World Cup, she placed 8th in the overall and sprint rankings and 9th in the distance ranking. [17]
At the 2017 Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland, Diggins took two medals: in the freestyle sprint, she won her quarterfinal and semifinal heats on her way to taking the silver, ahead of teammate Randall in third. [18] Subsequently, in the classic team sprint, Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen finished third, catching and passing the Swedish team in the closing stages of the race to take the bronze by 0.19 seconds. This made Diggins the first American to win four World Championship medals in cross-country skiing. [19]
Diggins finished third overall in the 2017–18 Tour de Ski, becoming the first American to finish on the podium in the overall classification, and beating her previous best of fifth overall in the previous edition. Her teammate Sadie Bjornsen finished ninth overall, also making it the first time that two Americans finished in the overall top ten. [20] Diggins finished second overall in the World Cup 2017–2018 season standings. [6]
At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Diggins and Randall became the first American cross-country skiers to capture a gold medal by winning the women's team sprint at the Alpensia Cross-Country Centre. In the final sprint, Diggins passed the last two individual sprint classical gold medalists – Sochi gold medalist Maiken Caspersen Falla of Norway before the last turn and then Pyeongchang gold medalist Stina Nilsson of Sweden on the last straightaway. Theirs was not only the United States' first ever cross-country skiing gold medal but also the first American cross-country skiing medal since Bill Koch won silver in the men's 30 km in 1976. [21] Steve Schlanger and Chad Salmela called the end of the race for NBC: [22] [23]
Salmela: As they come into the stadium, Diggins trying to get in on the outside!
Schlanger: Jessie Diggins with two fifth-place finishes, one-sixth, so close for the U.S. on so many occasions, now moving up on the outside into second place!
Salmela: They're all completely gassed! They've given it everything on the Klaebo-bakken! Stina Nilsson leading Jessie Diggins into the final turn – can Diggins answer?!
Schlanger: As the roars rattle around the cross-country stadium in Pyeongchang, Sweden, the U.S. and Norway coming to the line!
Salmela:Here comes Diggins! Here comes Diggins!
Schlanger: On the outside! Diggins making the play around Sweden!
Salmela:Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Gold!
Schlanger: Jessie Diggins to the line! And it is Jessie Diggins delivering a landmark moment that will be etched in U.S. Olympic history! The first-ever cross-country gold medal for the U.S.!
Salmela: It's a gold medal for the United States! It's not just a medal; it's the gold!
Diggins competed in all six women's cross-country skiing events at the Olympics and finished in the top 10 in all of them. At the end of the games, she was the flag bearer for the United States in the closing ceremony. [24]
Diggins won the 2021 Tour de Ski, a first for an American. She placed atop the overall World Cup 2020–2021 season standings, claiming the biggest annual prize in cross-country skiing. Diggins' victory put her with Koch, who won the men's title in 1982, to be the only Americans to win overall season titles for a World Cup cross-country ski circuit. [6]
At the 2022 Winter Olympics, Diggins won bronze in the women's sprint to become the first American to win an individual Olympic medal in a cross-country sprint. [25] She went on to win silver in the women's 30 kilometer freestyle, earning the U.S.' last medal on the last day of the Olympics. [26] She was the first non-European to win a medal in the event. [27] Diggins left Beijing as the most decorated American cross-country skier of all time. [28] For the second straight Olympics, she finished in the top 10 in all six women's cross-country skiing events.
In December 2022, Diggins broke the American record for World Cup cross-country ski wins with her fourteenth such win. [29]
At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2023 in Slovenia, Diggins and teammate Julie Kern won bronze in the team sprint. Two days later, Diggins won gold in the 10 km freestyle, which was the first top medal for an American in an individual event at any cross-country skiing world championship. [30]
Diggins posted the most successful season ever for an American skier during the 2023–24 FIS Cross-Country World Cup. [7] She won the 2023–24 Tour de Ski, her second victory in the competition. While on break from the World Cup ski tour mid season, Diggins competed in the American Birkebeiner in Wisconsin, and won the 50 km freestyle race on February 24, 2024. [12] For 2024, Diggins was awarded the Holmenkollen Medal, the highest Norwegian honor in skiing—Diggins was the first American to ever receive the distinction. [31] [32] For the 2023–24 World Cup season, Diggins claimed both the overall individual title—her second title after winning it in 2021—and the distance title. [7] She set a United States' records with six victories and 12 podium finishes for the season. [33]
Year | Age | 10 km individual | 15 km skiathlon | 30 km mass start | Sprint | 4 × 5 km relay | Team sprint |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | 22 | — | 8 | 40 | 12 | 9 | — |
2018 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 | Gold |
2022 | 30 | 8 | 6 | Silver | Bronze | 6 | 5 |
Year | Age | 10 km individual | 15 km skiathlon | 30 km mass start | Sprint | 4 × 5 km relay | Team sprint |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | 19 | — | 28 | — | 29 | 9 | — |
2013 | 21 | 23 | — | DNF | — | 4 | Gold |
2015 | 23 | Silver | — | DNF | — | 4 | 8 |
2017 | 25 | — | DNF | 5 | Silver | 4 | Bronze |
2019 | 27 | 25 | — | 4 | 8 | 5 | 5 |
2021 | 29 | 4 | 15 | — | 24 | 4 | — |
2023 | 31 | Gold | — | — | 21 | 5 | Bronze |
Season | |
Discipline | |
2021 | Overall |
Distance | |
2024 | Overall |
Distance |
Season | Age | Discipline standings | Ski Tour standings | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overall | Distance | Sprint | Nordic Opening | Tour de Ski | Ski Tour 2020 | World Cup Final | Ski Tour Canada | ||
2011 | 19 | NC | — | NC | — | — | — | — | — |
2012 | 20 | 34 | 26 | 35 | — | — | — | 15 | — |
2013 | 21 | 36 | 34 | 44 | 24 | 21 | — | 26 | — |
2014 | 22 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 13 | — | 36 | — |
2015 | 23 | 22 | 17 | 23 | 44 | DNF | — | — | — |
2016 | 24 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 38 | 10 | — | — | 5 |
2017 | 25 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 5 | — | 16 | — |
2018 | 26 | 6 | 12 | — | — | ||||
2019 | 27 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 6 | — | 14 | — |
2020 | 28 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 6 | — | — |
2021 | 29 | 4 | 15 | — | — | — | |||
2022 | 30 | 9 | 4 | — | 8 | — | — | — | |
2023 | 31 | 11 | — | 11 | — | — | — | ||
2024 | 32 | 5 | — | — | — | — | |||
2025 | 33 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — |
No. | Season | Date | Location | Race | Level | Place |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2015–16 | 8 January 2016 | Toblach, Italy | 5 km Individual F | Stage World Cup | 1st |
2 | 23 January 2016 | Nové Město, Czech Republic | 10 km Individual F | World Cup | 3rd | |
3 | 20 February 2016 | Lahti, Finland | 1.6 km Sprint F | World Cup | 2nd | |
4 | 1 March 2016 | Gatineau, Canada | 1.7 km Sprint F | Stage World Cup | 3rd | |
5 | 12 March 2016 | Canmore, Canada | 10 km Pursuit C | Stage World Cup | 3rd | |
6 | 2016–17 | 3 December 2016 | Lillehammer, Norway | 5 km Individual F | Stage World Cup | 1st |
7 | 3 January 2017 | Oberstdorf, Germany | 5 km + 5 km Skiathlon C/F | Stage World Cup | 2nd | |
8 | 6 January 2017 | Toblach, Italy | 5 km Individual F | Stage World Cup | 1st | |
9 | 2017–18 | 1 January 2018 | Lenzerheide, Switzerland | 10 km Pursuit F | Stage World Cup | 3rd |
10 | 7 January 2018 | Val di Fiemme, Italy | 9 km Pursuit F | Stage World Cup | 3rd | |
11 | 30 December 2017 – 7 January 2018 | Tour de Ski | Overall Standings | World Cup | 3rd | |
12 | 28 January 2018 | Seefeld, Austria | 10 km Mass Start F | World Cup | 1st | |
13 | 7 March 2018 | Drammen, Norway | 1.2 km Sprint C | World Cup | 3rd | |
14 | 11 March 2018 | Oslo, Norway | 30 km Mass Start F | World Cup | 2nd | |
15 | 18 March 2018 | Falun, Sweden | 10 km Pursuit F | Stage World Cup | 1st | |
16 | 16–18 March 2018 | World Cup Final | Overall Standings | World Cup | 2nd | |
17 | 2018–19 | 29 December 2018 | Toblach, Italy | 1.3 km Sprint F | Stage World Cup | 3rd |
18 | 1 January 2019 | Val Müstair, Switzerland | 1.4 km Sprint F | Stage World Cup | 3rd | |
19 | 3 January 2019 | Oberstdorf, Germany | 10 km Pursuit F | Stage World Cup | 3rd | |
20 | 16 February 2019 | Cogne, Italy | 1.6 km Sprint F | World Cup | 1st | |
21 | 17 March 2019 | Falun, Sweden | 10 km Individual F | World Cup | 3rd | |
22 | 2019–20 | 1 December 2019 | Rukatunturi, Finland | 10 km Pursuit F | Stage World Cup | 3rd |
23 | 7 December 2019 | Lillehammer, Norway | 7.5 km + 7.5 km Skiathlon C/F | World Cup | 2nd | |
24 | 15 December 2019 | Davos, Switzerland | 10 km Individual F | World Cup | 3rd | |
25 | 4 January 2020 | Val di Fiemme, Italy | 1.3 km Sprint C | Stage World Cup | 3rd | |
26 | 26 January 2020 | Oberstdorf, Germany | 1.5 km Sprint C | World Cup | 3rd | |
27 | 2020–21 | 1 January 2021 | Val Müstair, Switzerland | 1.4 km Sprint F | Stage World Cup | 3rd |
28 | 2 January 2021 | 10 km Mass Start C | Stage World Cup | 3rd | ||
29 | 3 January 2021 | 10 km Pursuit F | Stage World Cup | 1st | ||
30 | 5 January 2021 | Toblach, Italy | 10 km Individual F | Stage World Cup | 1st | |
31 | 6 January 2021 | 10 km Pursuit C | Stage World Cup | 3rd | ||
32 | 9 January 2021 | Val di Fiemme, Italy | 10 km Mass Start F | Stage World Cup | 2nd | |
33 | 1–10 January 2021 | Tour de Ski | Overall Standings | World Cup | 1st | |
34 | 29 January 2021 | Falun, Sweden | 10 km Individual F | World Cup | 1st | |
35 | 6 February 2021 | Ulricehamn, Sweden | 1.3 km Sprint F | World Cup | 3rd | |
36 | 2021–22 | 3 December 2021 | Lillehammer, Norway | 1.6 km Sprint F | World Cup | 2nd |
37 | 12 December 2021 | Davos, Switzerland | 10 km Individual F | World Cup | 2nd | |
38 | 28 December 2021 | Lenzerheide, Switzerland | 1.5 km Sprint F | Stage World Cup | 1st | |
39 | 31 December 2021 | Oberstdorf, Germany | 10 km Mass Start F | Stage World Cup | 1st | |
40 | 12 March 2022 | Falun, Sweden | 10 km Individual F | World Cup | 3rd | |
41 | 2022–23 | 2 December 2022 | Lillehammer, Norway | 10 km Individual F | World Cup | 1st |
42 | 17 December 2022 | Davos, Switzerland | 1.5 km Sprint F | World Cup | 2nd | |
43 | 18 December 2022 | 20 km Individual F | World Cup | 1st | ||
44 | 27 January 2023 | Les Rousses, France | 10 km Individual F | World Cup | 3rd | |
45 | 3 February 2023 | Toblach, Italy | 1.4 km Sprint F | World Cup | 3rd | |
46 | 4 February 2023 | 10 km Individual F | World Cup | 2nd | ||
47 | 12 March 2023 | Oslo, Norway | 50 km Mass Start F | World Cup | 3rd | |
48 | 2023–24 | 26 November 2023 | Rukatunturi, Finland | 20 km Mass Start F | World Cup | 2nd |
49 | 2 December 2023 | Gällivare, Sweden | 10 km Individual F | World Cup | 1st | |
50 | 10 December 2023 | Östersund, Sweden | 10 km Individual F | World Cup | 1st | |
51 | 16 December 2023 | Trondheim, Norway | 10 km + 10 km Skiathlon C/F | World Cup | 2nd | |
52 | 31 December 2023 | Toblach, Italy | 10 km Individual C | Stage World Cup | 3rd | |
53 | 1 January 2024 | 20 km Pursuit F | Stage World Cup | 1st | ||
54 | 3 January 2024 | Davos, Switzerland | 1.2 km Sprint F | Stage World Cup | 3rd | |
55 | 4 January 2024 | 20 km Pursuit C | Stage World Cup | 3rd | ||
56 | 30 December 2023 – 7 January 2024 | Tour de Ski | Overall Standings | World Cup | 1st | |
57 | 28 January 2024 | Goms, Switzerland | 20 km Mass Start F | World Cup | 1st | |
58 | 9 February 2024 | Canmore, Canada | 15 km Mass Start F | World Cup | 1st | |
59 | 18 February 2024 | Minneapolis, USA | 10 km Individual F | World Cup | 3rd | |
60 | 17 March 2024 | Falun, Sweden | 20 km Mass Start F | World Cup | 1st | |
61 | 2024–25 | 1 December 2024 | Rukatunturi, Finland | 20 km Mass Start F | World Cup | 1st |
62 | 8 December 2024 | Lillehammer, Norway | 10 km + 10 km Skiathlon C/F | World Cup | 3rd |
No. | Season | Date | Location | Race | Level | Place | Teammate(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2011–12 | 15 January 2012 | Milan, Italy | 6 × 1.4 km Team Sprint F | World Cup | 2nd | Randall |
2 | 2012–13 | 25 November 2012 | Gällivare, Sweden | 4 × 5 km Relay C/F | World Cup | 3rd | Brooks / Randall / Stephen |
3 | 7 December 2012 | Quebec City, Canada | 6 × 1.6 km Team Sprint F | World Cup | 1st | Randall | |
4 | 2013–14 | 8 December 2013 | Lillehammer, Norway | 4 × 5 km Relay C/F | World Cup | 3rd | Randall / Bjornsen / Stephen |
5 | 2015–16 | 6 December 2015 | Lillehammer, Norway | 4 × 5 km Relay C/F | World Cup | 3rd | Brennan / Bjornsen / Stephen |
6 | 24 January 2016 | Nové Město, Czech Republic | 4 × 5 km Relay C/F | World Cup | 2nd | Caldwell / Bjornsen / Stephen | |
7 | 2019–20 | 8 December 2019 | Lillehammer, Norway | 4 × 5 km Relay C/F | World Cup | 2nd | Caldwell / Bjornsen / Brennan |
8 | 2021–22 | 19 December 2021 | Dresden, Germany | 12 × 0.65 km Team Sprint F | World Cup | 2nd | Kern |
9 | 13 March 2022 | Falun, Sweden | 4 × 5 km Mixed Relay F | World Cup | 1st | Brennan / Ketterson / Patterson | |
10 | 2022–23 | 5 February 2023 | Toblach, Italy | 4 × 7.5 km Relay C/F | World Cup | 3rd | Swirbul / Brennan / Kern |
11 | 2023–24 | 3 December 2023 | Gällivare, Sweden | 4 × 7.5 km Relay C/F | World Cup | 3rd | Brennan / Laukli / Kern |
The table includes medals only, not all race placements.
No. | Year | Location | Event | Place |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2011 | Rumford, Maine | Sprint freestyle | |
2 | Sun Valley, Idaho | 30 km classic mass start | ||
3 | 2012 | Rumford, Maine | Sprint freestyle | |
4 | 10 km freestyle | |||
5 | 20 km classic mass start | |||
6 | Sprint classic | |||
7 | Craftsbury, Vermont | 30 km freestyle mass start | ||
8 | 2016 | Craftsbury, Vermont | 30 km freestyle mass start | |
9 | 2018 | Craftsbury, Vermont | 30 km freestyle mass start |
Diggins married Wade Poplawski in 2022. Poplawski, a native of Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada, is a former minor league hockey player for the Rapid City Rush. The couple lives in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. Diggins trains in Vermont. [2] [34]
After winning an Olympic gold medal, Diggins used her clout to successfully lobby for the United States to host a World Cup cross-country skiing event, culminating in the 2024 Stifel Loppet Cup held in Minneapolis. [35]
Diggins is an ambassador for the non-profit organization Fast and Female, which inspires girls ages 8–18 to be active and empowered in sports. [36] [37] Diggins is also an ambassador for the non-profit organization Protect Our Winters (POW), whose aim is to effect systemic solutions to climate change through the outdoor sports community. Diggins traveled with POW to Capitol Hill in April 2018 to raise concerns over climate change. [3]
In 2019, Diggins became a spokesperson for the Emily Program, an organization in the United States that provides treatment for eating disorders. In several interviews and essays, she revealed her experience of seeking treatment for bulimia at the organization in 2010, with the aim of using her story to help improve self-acceptance and reduce stigma and secrecy around eating disorders for others. [38] [39] In 2020, Diggins wrote an autobiography, Brave Enough, about her athletic accomplishments and personal struggles with bulimia as a teenager. [40] After 12 years in recovery, Diggins said in media interviews that she had a relapse in 2023 ahead of the cross-country ski season. [2] [33]
Bente Skari, née Martinsen, is a Norwegian former cross-country skier. She is one of the most successful cross-country skiers ever.
Marit Bjørgen is a former Norwegian cross-country skier. She is ranked first in the all-time Cross-Country World Cup rankings with 114 individual victories. Bjørgen is also the most successful sprinter in Cross-Country World Cup history, with 29 victories. She headed the medal table at the 2010 Winter Olympics by winning five medals, including three gold. A five-time Olympian, her five Olympic medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games brought her total number of medals up to a record 15, making her the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time and the third-most decorated Olympian of all time.
Chandra Crawford is a Canadian cross-country skier who has competed since 2001 at the age of 16. Prior to this, she was a biathlete for five years. She was born in Canmore, Alberta, Canada.
Justyna Maria Kowalczyk-Tekieli is a Polish cross-country skier who has been competing since 2000. Kowalczyk is a double Olympic Champion and a double World Champion. She is also the only skier to win the Tour de Ski four times in a row and one of two female skiers to win the FIS Cross-Country World Cup three times in a row. Kowalczyk holds the all-time record for wins in the Tour de Ski with 14, and had 29 podiums in total. She also won the Vasaloppet women's edition in 2015. She was voted the Polish Sports Personality of the Year a record five times.
Hilde Gjermundshaug Pedersen is a Norwegian cross-country skier. Her first Olympic medal was a silver 4 × 5 km relay at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, she took the bronze medal in the 10 km classical interval start event. Pedersen is the oldest woman ever to win a cross country skiing World Cup race, which she did at age 41 in January 2006 in Otepää, Estonia.
Kikkan Randall is an American Olympic champion cross-country skier. She has won 17 U.S. National titles, made 29 podiums on the World Cup, made five trips to the Winter Olympic Games and had the highest finish by an individual American woman at the World Championships, second in the Sprint in Liberec in 2009. She was the first American female cross-country skier to take a top ten finish in World Cup competition, to win a World Cup race and to win a World Cup discipline title. She won the silver medal in the individual sprint at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, becoming the first American woman to win a medal in cross country skiing at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, and in 2013 teamed up with Jessie Diggins to win the first ever American FIS Nordic World Ski Championships gold medal in the team sprint. She and Diggins won the United States' first ever cross-country skiing gold medal at the Winter Olympics in women's team sprint at Pyeongchang in 2018.
Maiken Caspersen Falla is a Norwegian former cross-country skier who specialized in sprint and short-distance races. She is the 2014 Olympic champion in the individual sprint and three-time Olympic medalist. She became the individual sprint World champion at the 2017 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships and successfully defended her World title in 2019. Falla won a total of five gold, one silver and four bronze medals at the World Championships in her career and she is the most medalled skier in the individual sprint discipline in the Championship history with five medals. Winner of three consecutive Sprint World Cup crystal globes, Falla's highest finish in the overall World Cup standings was sixth-place which she achieved in 2014–15 and 2015–16 World Cup seasons.
Alex Harvey is a retired Canadian cross-country skier who competed between 2005 and 2019. Harvey is also a member of the Quebec Provincial Cycling Team.
Stina Nilsson is a Swedish former biathlete and former cross-country skier. She is a five-time Olympic medalist and the 2018 Olympic champion in the individual sprint. In March 2020 she announced that she would switch to competing in biathlon. In April 2024, she announced her return to cross-country skiing, this time as a long-distance racer.
Sadie Maubet Bjornsen is a retired American cross-country skier and former member of the United States Ski Team Nordic programs "Cross Country A Team" roster.
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo is a Norwegian cross-country skier who represents Byåsen IL. He holds multiple records, most notably for being the youngest male in history to win the FIS Cross-Country World Cup, the Tour de Ski, a World Championship event, and an Olympic event in cross-country skiing.
Alexander Alexandrovich Bolshunov is a Russian cross-country skier and two-time winner of the 14th and 15th Tour de Ski.
The women's team sprint freestyle cross-country skiing competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics was held on 21 February 2018 at 19:00 KST at the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Centre in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The event consisted of 6 by 1.25km sprints alternating between 2 teammates. Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins won the event, making this the first ever Olympic medal for the United States in women's cross-country skiing. It was also the first ever Olympic gold medal for the United States in cross-country skiing. Charlotte Kalla and Stina Nilsson came second, and the defending champion Marit Bjørgen, skiing in pair with Maiken Caspersen Falla, won the bronze medal.
Chad Salmela is a former member of the U.S. biathlon team from 1990-1998. He currently is an analyst for NBC Olympics' biathlon and cross-country skiing.
Julia Kern is an American cross-country skier.
The women’s team sprint competition in cross-country skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 16 February, at the Kuyangshu Nordic Center and Biathlon Center in Zhangjiakou. Katharina Hennig and Victoria Carl of Germany won the event. Maja Dahlqvist and Jonna Sundling of Sweden won silver medals, and Yuliya Stupak and Natalya Nepryayeva, representing the Russian Olympic Committee, bronze.
The women’s sprint competition in cross-country skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 8 February, at the Kuyangshu Nordic Center and Biathlon Center in Zhangjiakou. Jonna Sundling of Sweden became the Olympic champion. Her compatriot, Maja Dahlqvist, won the silver medal, and Jessie Diggins of the United States the bronze. For Sundling and Dahlquist, this was the first Olympic medal, and for Diggins, the first individual Olympic medal.
The women's 30 kilometre freestyle competition in cross-country skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 20 February, at the Kuyangshu Nordic Center and Biathlon Center in Zhangjiakou. Therese Johaug of Norway became the champion, thereby winning all three individual distance events at these Olympics. She was only second woman to do so after Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi in 1984. Jessie Diggins of the United States won the silver medal, and Kerttu Niskanen of Finland the bronze. For Diggins, this was her first individual Olympic medal.
August "Gus" Schumacher is an American cross-country skier. In 2020, Schumacher became the first American to win a gold medal in an individual race at the Junior World Ski Championships. He competed in the 30 kilometre skiathlon at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Schumacher won the Men's 10 km freestyle race at the 2024 Stifel Loppet Cup in Minneapolis on February 18, 2024. His win marked the first time an American male skier had won an individual distance event since Bill Koch in 1983.
The 2024 Stifel Loppet Cup was an international cross-country skiing competition held February 17–18 at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis. As one of the fifteen events in the 2023–24 FIS Cross-Country World Cup season, it featured top-ranked skiers from the global racing circuit. The event was the first World Cup cross-country ski competition held in the United States since 2001. More than 150 athletes from 21 countries competed in the races. About 40,000 spectators attended the two-day, festival-like event that was headlined by the women’s races.