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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 nabbed a bronze medal at the Winter Olympics on Thursday.
Diggins, battling bruised ribs, was trying to make the podium in between Swedish and Norwegian skiers. She endured the pain and fell to the ground.
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Jessie Diggins, of the United States, falls to the ground after crossing the finish line in the cross country skiing women’s 10km interval start free at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Tesero, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
She was writhing in pain just after crossing the line. The NBC broadcast heard Diggins yell as her teammate tried to help her out while she tried to catch her breath. Diggins did it for love of the sport and now can call herself an Olympic medalist. She crossed the line at 23.38.90.
Sweden’s Frida Karlsson had the top time of 22:49.20, finishing 46.6 seconds ahead of fellow Swede Ebba Andersson. Norway’s Astria Oeyre Slind was just over 3 seconds behind Diggins.
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Jessie Diggins of the United States and Hailey Swirbul of the United States react after the race on Feb. 12, 2026. (REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach)
It’s the first medal for Team USA on the day as the U.S. looked to hang with Italy and Norway in the total medal standings.
Diggins was a silver medalist in the 2022 Beijing Olympics in the event. She also had a bronze in the individual sprint in those Games. Diggins was a part of the gold-medal winning team sprint at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
She can still pick up more medals with the 50-meter classical race and the 4×7.5-kilometer relay still to come.
Jessie Diggins of United States and Krista Parmakoski of Finland in action on Feb. 12, 2026. (REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq)
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Diggins and American Ben Ogden are now medalists in the sport. Ogden won a silver in the men’s classical sprint earlier this week.
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