Jessie Diggins made North American sports history when he became the first US cross-country world champion in individual distances.
The 10-kilometer freestyle skiing world championship made Diggins emotional. Diggins hugged his teammates and shed tears. Diggins also had a sensitive discussion with the competition’s runner-up, Sweden Frida Karlsson with.
– I can not stop crying. I just wish my husband was here. I haven’t been home since November, Diggins told Karlsson.
According to Diggins, the family is so supportive of him that he would have loved to have his family there for the special moment.
The American won the championship in Planica in show style, 14 seconds ahead of Karlsson.
– I have cried a lot. There have been a lot of emotions, but good ones, Diggins said later when he arrived for an interview with Urheilu.
According to the American, Planica’s World Cup track suited him wonderfully.
– This was the perfect track for me with new snow. That’s why I was able to break away in the downhills. I was also able to attack the descents and go like crazy on the uphills, Diggins stated.
From setbacks to the victory of the whole team
Diggins’ season has been full of twists and turns. The 31-year-old Diggins overwhelmingly won the 20 km intermediate race held in Davos at the beginning of December. At the turn of the year at the Tour de Ski, he had to be one of the biggest early favorites. That’s where Diggins collapsed, though.
The Norwegian experts were of the opinion that the American should have left the tour. However, the American has been under attack in the main job of the season. He skipped the combined competition and started the World Championships in the pair sprint.
In it, Diggins kept a ferocious pace and took the USA to bronze in skiing Julia Kern with.
– I knew I was in good shape at the Tour de Ski. “Honestly, we had lubrication problems,” Diggins said.
Diggins told Urheilu about the great teamwork behind his championship. He was proud of the entire US team.
– Everything has to be in order to be competitive. That’s why we always win as a team. This gold is for the whole team. I couldn’t have won without the amazing skis. We have learned a lot during this season. That makes this championship even more special, said Diggins.
Sauna friend Aino-Kaisa Saarinen: “Jessie is really crazy”
Before the WC gold in Planica, Diggins had two value championships. He had taken along an American sports legend Kick Randall with gold from the pair sprint at the Pyeongchang Olympics and gold at the World Championships ten years ago from the pair sprint in Val di Fiemme.
A former skiing star working as an expert for Urheilu Aino-Kaisa Saarinen knows Diggins well. In the spring of 2012, at the World Cup in Falun, which ended the season, Saarinen thought about what to do in the coming season.
– Then Kikkan came to ask if you were going to camp in Alaska. I was like hell yes! I went to the hotel room and decided that of course I would go, Saarinen said on Tuesday in Planica.
I especially remembered the pair sprint training from the camp in Alaska.
– I saw there that I had no chance to go pole skating. It was really damn hard, Saarinen said.
Those trainings then led the American duo to the world championship. Since then, Diggins has visited Saarinen’s place in Finland many times for a sauna.
– He is absolutely crazy. Jessie has been dancing for a long time. He is a really interesting person. He is such a nice, outgoing and wonderful guy, says Saarinen.
However, victories on the ski slopes have not been the biggest struggle in Diggins’ life. The American has openly said that he suffered from an eating disorder and struggled with it.
Diggins also thanked his helpers on Instagram and admitted that he wouldn’t be competing in the World Championships in Planica without receiving treatment.
Diggins has said that she fell ill with bulimia during her high school years as a promising skiing junior.
– Before high school, I had no problems with my body. I was the kind of kid who was involved in all sports. I called boys brats because I was stronger than them. Then I became a teenage girl. I was suddenly ashamed of my muscles. I couldn’t fit into prom dresses or jeans. I felt there was something wrong with me, Diggins told in 2019 in an interview with ESPN (you will switch to another service).
Striving for perfection, Diggins ran into appearance pressures in skiing circles.
– I remember going to my first World Youth Championships. I had been damn confident. All the other girls took the fat off their steaks at dinner. I remember looking around and thinking, am I doing something wrong? Why am I the only one who drinks cocoa? I believed in the false narrative that to be a successful skier you should stop eating fat, desserts and basically everything, Diggins has described.
In reality, the energy consumption of skiers is quite high and they need to eat a lot in order to develop and recover.
Diggins is also known as an outspoken skier who dares to pick up on the loose talk of ski bosses. In recent years, he has been particularly concerned about winters with little snow and the future of skiing.
Netflix in the party plans
Saarinen has seen Diggins rise from a young promise to a fixed star in the skiing world.
– Yes, he came to that national team as such a slob. It’s been good that she’s had big sisterly support like Kikkan there. It was great that they won Olympic gold with Kikkan in Pyeongchang.
– Then Kikkan left and Jessie had to take Kikkan’s place of responsibility. Sure, Jessie was already successful by then, but when it came to taking responsibility, she took it. That’s pretty awesome.
In cross-country skiing, it has also been talked about for a long time that it would be good to have winners from other countries than Norway and Sweden. Diggins is Planica’s first cross-country champion from outside these countries.
– Now in the United States there is no new “scumbag” like Diggins in sight yet, who would take over when Jessie leaves. I hope he continues for a long time, Aino-Kaisa Saarinen thinks about her friend.
However, Diggins did not have the opportunity to celebrate his championship in a big way on Tuesday. The American is still hungry for a medal from Thursday’s relay race.
– Maybe I’ll watch Netflix or something, Diggins told Urheilu about his party plans.