Diggins Caps Historic Olympics With Silver Medal In 30KM Race

Stillwater MN

23 February, 2022

11:01 AM

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WASHINGTON COUNTY, MN — Washington County native Jessie Diggins made more history on the final day of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing as she raced across the finish line to win the silver medal in a long-distance cross-country skiing race. Diggins, 30, finished second behind Norway's Therese Johaug in the 30-kilometer freestyle race Sunday, becoming the first American cross-country skier to win more than one medal at an Olympics, the Star Tribune reported. Diggins earned the silver medal despite going into race day sick with food poisoning, according to the report. Stillwater High Locked Down After Teen Fled Into School: Police She posted photos from the race and medal ceremony on her Instagram, alongside a message to all of her supporters. "A night and an Olympics that I'm never going to forget!" Diggins wrote. "Thank you to everyone who believed, who cheered, who supported and got me through these Games and the years leading up to it." Car Parked On River In Stillwater Spurs 911 Calls: Report "I am forever grateful!" Diggins continued. "Leaving Beijing with a tired, run down and exhausted body … but a full heart." The Stillwater Area High School graduate is no stranger to pushing boundaries and going where no American skier has gone before. She took home bronze about two weeks ago in the freestyle sprint, the first-ever medal for an American woman in an individual cross-country skiing event. After her second-place finish in the 30-kilometer freestyle, Diggins now has a medal of each color. 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. Olympic Journey Ends In Shock Defeat For Stillwater Hockey Star Diggins and Randall 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.