Cross Country Skiing - FIS Cross Country World Cup - Falun, Sweden - March 17, 2024 Overall season winner Jessie Diggins of the U.S. celebrates on the podium with the crystal globe trophy Anders Wiklund/TT News Agency via REUTERS
DENVER (Reuters) -Jessie Diggins, the most decorated U.S. cross-country skier, announced on Wednesday that she will be retiring from the sport at the end of the season.
The 34-year-old and Kikkan Randall earned the U.S. their first Olympic gold in cross-country skiing when they won the team sprint at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. Four years later, Diggins became the first American to win an individual Olympic sprint medal with a bronze before increasing her haul with a silver in the 30 km freestyle.
She has also won three overall World Cup titles, and three distance Crystal Globes.
"I want to share with you that this will be my final year of ski racing! It's going to be hard to step away from this sport and team that I love so much, but it also feels right in my heart, and I'm so excited to open a new chapter in my life!" she said in a statement.
“I hope I’m remembered not just for the pain cave and ability to suffer deeply for a team that I love and a sport I care about so much, but for the joy, sense of fun on snow, heart-on-sleeve racing, deep vulnerability and openness that I’ve brought to everything I do,” said Diggins.
Diggins, the number one cross-country skier in the world, reshaped America's standing in a sport that has typically been dominated by Scandinavian competitors.
Since entering the professional circuit at age 19, she has stood on 79 World Cup podiums, landed 29 World Cup victories, and is the only non-European to have won the overall FIS Crystal Globe.
She is also known for smearing glitter across her cheeks before competitions - a trait picked up by young cross-country skiers across the United States.
”Jessie has been an incredible role model and teacher for me. I feel very fortunate to have been her teammate for so long. Her ability to dominate the world stage while remaining humble, thoughtful and kind is something I will always aspire to,” said Ben Ogden of the U.S. cross-country ski team.
Diggins will kick off her season on Nov. 28, in Ruka, Finland, and is expected to participate in her fourth Olympics in the Milano-Cortina Winter Games in February. She will conclude her career at the Stifel Lake Placid Finals in March, in Lake Placid, New York.
(Reporting by Liz Hampton in DenverEditing by Christian Radnedge and Pritha Sarkar)
