On the eve of the Loppet Cup, Jessie Diggins was asked what standing atop the podium meant to her. Despite her emotions swirling around her first World Cup event in her home country, she wanted to keep the pressure low.
“If you get your priorities straight, it’s no different than being the last one to die,” the Afton native said. “The real victory was here.”
She felt the same way Sunday after finishing third in the women’s 10km freestyle, the final race of the competition. Sweden’s Jonah Sandling raced around the course at Theodore Wirth Park, adding the 10km title to his freestyle sprint win on Saturday and taking home the major prize for the second day in a row. Sandling finished in 22 minutes 38.9 seconds, followed by compatriot Frida Karlsson and Diggins.
Only the Minnesotans stood in Sweden’s overwhelming victory. Diggins moved into third place at the 3.3-kilometer mark and held firm from then on, finishing 3.2 seconds ahead of fourth-placed Lynn Svern. With this podium finish, Diggins maintains the overall World Cup victory lead over Swarn, giving him a 257 point advantage with four stops left in the season.
There was no such thing in Diggins’ head. Earlier in the day, she helped Gus Schumacher hoist him onto the shoulders of his American teammates after his memorable victory in the men’s 10k, which made him the third American man to win a World Cup event. Ta.
In the aftermath of her own race, Diggins’ teammates returned the favor by picking her up and blowing kisses to the crowd of 20,000.
“This whole weekend was a career dream come true for me,” Diggins said. “It almost doesn’t feel real.
“Everyone has been ready to celebrate skiing in this country. This is something I’ve been working on for a long time. I’ve never been more proud.”
Race results: Men’s 10k | women’s 10k
Mr Diggins was particularly pleased with how fans welcomed the World Cup, which was held in the United States for the first time in 2001. A total of 40,000 people participated in the two-day race. They turned the autograph zone into a crowd, treated the athletes like celebrities, and created what several skiers called a “wall of noise” around the course.
The Loppet Foundation organized the race, and executive director Claire Wilson said officials at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, which oversees the World Cup, were impressed. Given the rave reviews from athletes and fans, she hopes the Loppet Foundation will discuss hosting another World Cup in the future.
“It was a great weekend,” Wilson said. “We’re not a large organization, but we showed what we could do. And it aligned with our mission to connect people with the outdoors and build community.”
The Loppet Cup concluded on another Bluebird Day with perfect skiing and spectating weather. Schumacher started the day with a monumental surprise. The Madison, Wisconsin, native, who grew up in Alaska, won the men’s race in 20:52.7, beating men’s World Cup points leader Harald Østberg Amundsen of Norway by 4.4 seconds.
Diggins was one of the first to hug Schumacher. An hour before her own race, she cried over his victory, adding even more emotion to her weekend that was already filled with emotion.
For months, she said her only purpose in Minneapolis was to have fun, and she was careful not to get too focused on absorbing the World Cup, which has been years in the making. On Saturday, Diggins finished fourth in the freestyle sprint. She returned on Sunday to even bigger cheers for her signature race.
The 10km race was an interval start, and Sandling, who started 38th, set a high standard by setting the fastest time at each checkpoint. Diggins started 58th. By the time she hit the track, the road was muddy under the bright sun, and she was slowing down a little with each third lap.
“My strategy was to run as hard as I could the whole time and really try to finish with about 2,000 meters left,” Diggins said. “And I hope the crowd will carry me to the finish line. And they did.”
Diggins said the roar that followed her throughout the course was the loudest she had ever heard. When she finished in 23 minutes, 10.7 seconds, she collapsed on the snow, exhausted but smiling.
Diggins praised the fans for accepting all athletes, regardless of the color they wear. Amundsen paid the ultimate tribute. He said the number of spectators at Wirs Park exceeded the number of spectators at the event in the home of cross-country skiing, Norway.
“On the longest climb, it was really crazy,” he said. “I couldn’t hear myself thinking or breathing. I really want to ski in America again. Maybe next year.”
Diggins wasn’t thinking that far ahead. On Sunday, she wanted to stay fully in the moment and take in every last memory of her.
“My only goal was to enjoy it and just give it my all and leave everything on the course,” she said. “And I did. I definitely did.”
