Nordic Revolutionary

Cross-country skier Jessie Diggins sprinted into the national spotlight during the 2018 Winter Olympics, when she and her relay partner Kikkan Randall won the first-ever Nordic skiing gold medals for the United States. Diggins claimed silver and bronze in the 2022 Beijing Olympics and became the country’s most decorated cross-country skier. Out of the mainstream sports spotlight, she is a perennial force on the Scandinavian-dominated World Cup circuit, where she won the 2023 World Championship race and has twice claimed the overall World Cup title, including last season when she set a new high score record. Raised in the woodsy hamlet of Afton, Diggins grew up skiing local trails with her family. She joined the powerhouse Stillwater High School team and was a three-time state champion before beginning her professional career. She’s a distinctive modern athlete who has made tracks as the nation’s greatest cross-country skier of all time by combining a titanium-hard work ethic and an extreme tolerance to pain with abundant glitter, a fierce devotion to team, and vibrant Midwestern sincerity. She uses her celebrity to address climate change and issues regarding girls’ sports and mental health. Last February, the indefatigable Diggins brought a World Cup race to Minneapolis’ Theodore Wirth Regional Park, the first time in 23 years since such an event had been held in the United States.

Q | You had a huge 2023–2024 ski season, which ended with you as the overall women’s World Cup champion. Looking back, what was it like to compete for the overall prize at Wirth Park in front of a home crowd last February?
After the 2018 Olympics, when I won a gold medal with my team partner Kikkan, I had felt so much support from the ski community, especially in Minnesota where people had believed in me since I was a gangly 13-year-old. I wanted to bring the World Cup home, so kids could see the best athletes in the world. The Loppet Foundation took on hosting the World Cup, and it was six years in the making. To show up in the world leader jersey was beyond my wildest dream. I had raced 301 individual World Cups before getting to race in my home country. It was amazing to see my high school volunteer coaches and biology teacher. Nothing is ever going to top racing in front of my grandparents. It was the emotional highlight of my career.

Q | How did growing up in the ski-crazy St. Croix Valley foster your development as an athlete?
Growing up with my family, we did camping, hiking, canoeing, fishing, and cross-country skiing. We were out enjoying the beautiful trails, lakes, and rivers my whole life. It’s always been about feeling connected with the outdoors and sharing it with people you love. My introduction to cross-country skiing was in my dad’s backpack. You tell sled dogs “mush” to go faster, so I’d be pulling his hair and yelling, “mush!” Then I got my own skis, and my parents signed us up for the Minnesota Youth Ski League. Early on I wasn’t invested in racing, but then I joined my high school team, and feeling part of the bigger picture was what grew my love of racing and passion for training.

Q | What did you do with your time off prior to training for the current World Cup season?
April was my month off, a chance to let my body repair itself after a hard winter of racing. I went on a belated honeymoon with my husband to Patagonia in Chile. We went camping and hiking in Torre del Paine National Park.

Q | In late February, you’ll be competing for another World Championship podium in Trondheim, Norway. What are other goals for your 2024–2025 season?
I want to see improvement in my classic skiing. I’ve been working hard on technique, making small improvements over the last six months that I’m hoping will pay off.

Q | The next winter Olympics are 2026 in Milan. Are you gunning for a fourth Olympics?
Yes, I’m very excited about this next Olympics, to help lead our team to some exciting results.

Q | What do you hope to accomplish through your work with climate nonprofit Protect Our Winters?
In 2018, when overnight I became the face of U.S. skiing, I was like, “this has to mean something,” so I joined Protect Our Winters. I went with them on a lobbying trip to D.C. and used the gold medal to get in the door with our House representatives and senators and tell them how climate impacts the economies of small mountain towns and how I want my kids to be able to cross-country ski someday. I hope I am encouraging people to find their voice and speak up about the things they care about.

Q | Has our warming climate changed how you train and compete?
Quite a lot. I’ve had many races canceled or moved. Nowadays you can’t host a World Cup unless you can make snow. That’s not something that used to happen. I have friends who run ski shops and I’ve seen how it impacts them and their communities. It’s not just, “Oh, poor me, I don’t get to race.” As cross-country skiers, we’re the canaries in the coal mine. We see the effects more than most people.

Q | You’ve achieved the highest highs in cross-country skiing. What keeps you motivated to continue pushing?
I got into this sport because I love the people, the culture, and the community. I feel so invested in Team USA and that’s incredibly motivating. The other piece of the puzzle is I’m so curious what’s at the bottom of the well. When you go down in the pain cave in a race, and you ask, “Do I have the mental strength to go there when anyone would want to quit? Can I find the will to keep going?” There’s something about that challenge that really lights me up. I love finding how tough and gritty I can be.

Q | What happens in the pain cave?
My lungs are on fire. Oftentimes from the waist down my legs go numb. You get the copper taste in the back of your throat that tastes like blood. My vision will tint, either slightly yellow or slightly pink. When I finish the race, I’m the only person in the world who is ever going to know if I chickened out when it got hard. I’m going to put it all out there so I never have to wonder, and that’s a chance for me to learn and grow and express myself through sport.

Q | That’s a hard thing to put yourself through. Where does that tenacity come from?
Passion for my team and my sport and racing for my country, and for the community that gave me everything. The community in Minnesota that believed in me, I want to show them that I took their sport and ran with it all the way. Some of it is probably genetics. My dad has an incredible pain tolerance.

Q | How are you different as an athlete than, say, 10 years ago?
I went from being the baby of the team for six years, and now I’m the mom of the team. I love answering questions and being a good role model for my younger teammates. I’m a lot more confident in speaking up for what I believe in. My career now is more focused on giving back and inspiring through the sport, rather than just trying to win a race.

Q | You were candid last winter about having a relapse of your eating disorder. How’s your mental health been?
It’s been good. Opening up can be terrifying. At the same time, it’s amazing when you ask for help and see love and support all around you. With recovery, especially when you can’t see the injury, it’s not linear. If you break your arm, it’s six weeks in a cast and it’s easier to find empathy and understanding. When the injury is on the inside, it’s harder for people to see, and that’s why it’s important to be able to share where you’re at and what you need. I’m in a great place now. That brings joy to ski racing, and racing has always been a source of joy and excitement, and I’m really glad I still have it in my life.

Q | You live in Boston now, right? 
Right now I’m in Stratton, Vermont, where I train with my club team. My husband and I bounce back and forth from Stratton to where we live just outside of Boston. I love having my little gardens to grow vegetables in Stratton and in Wakefield. My parents and sister live in Minnesota, so I go back often. I feel like I have three homes, which is wonderful.