Jessie Diggins takes third Olympic medal - "I've finished with nothing left"

Jessie Diggins enhanced her legacy as USA's greatest cross-country skier with silver in the 30km mass start free at Beijing 2022 on Sunday.

Diggins, 30, was second to Norway's Therese Johaug, who claimed her third individual title in Beijing, to win her country's 25th and final medal of these Olympic Winter Games.

Having already won bronze in the individual sprint, making her USA's first woman to win a medal in cross-country, she became the first American cross-country skier to win two medals at a single Games.

It's yet more history for Diggins who also claimed Team USA's first gold in the sport with Kikkan Randall in the PyeongChang 2018 team sprint.

Incredibly, she had suffered from food poisoning on the eve of her final event of the Games.

She told Olympics.com that she did not carry much confidence into the race, saying, "If I'm being honest, 24 hours ago I felt really bad and I just laid in bed yesterday mostly and ate food and drank sport drinks.

"But it worked and I think maybe because it's been so cold and so hard, maybe extra rest is what I needed."

On the podium again

Given that less-than-ideal preparation, it was perhaps no surprise that Diggins collapsed immediately after crossing the line.

She said, "Every last drop of energy went into that race for sure, and the last two laps my legs were cramping so I just kept trying to drink as much feeds as I could.

"We had amazing cheering out there and I was like 'I just can't give up'. I put everything I have into the snow today and finished with nothing left."

In the individual sprint free earlier in the Games, Diggins took bronze behind Swedish pair Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist.

After that race, she said, "I'm so grateful because this medal really belongs to the whole team. And it really means so much because it takes so much from so many people.

"I'm so happy and so grateful, really, to be here. It's been a lot of pressure and a lot of stress this year and a lot of Covid this year. And so to be here I think that makes it extra special, because it was so hard."

After her debut at Sochi 2014, this is Diggins' second consecutive Games where she has made the top-10 in every event she has competed in.

Growing the sport

Seeing athletes perform well at the highest level can prove pivotal in growing sports that aren't in the mainstream, and Diggins hopes that will be the case in the United States.

When asked about attracting prospective cross-country skiers, she said: "It's so important. I hope that a lot of people decide to try cross-country skiing and see that it's a really fun sport that you can do your whole life."

This isn't just for the sake of competition, though, as she added: "Maybe you want to race, maybe you just want to have fun with your friends, but I think it's such a cool sport for people to try. So, I hope it helps grow the sport."