Jessie Diggins digs into World Cup season in Finland: "I love to do what I do"
RUKA, Finland – Minnesota's Jessie Diggins is the face of American cross country skiing. And with a new World Cup season about to begin this week in Finland, WCCO caught up with the Afton native to find out her long-term goals, and what she's hoping to bring to Minnesota.
After her iconic and landmark gold medal in the 2018 Winter Olympics, Diggins undertook a lot in the 2022 games, winning a silver and bronze.
"I was like, wow, if I can survive this and the pressure of COVID on top of it, lik everything else will be a piece of cake," Diggins said. "That's not true. Pressure is pressure and you feel it no matter what stage of life you're in."
Diggins entered a new life stage in May of 2022, getting married in Hastings.
"It was the best day of my whole life, and I'm still really, really happy about it," she said.
The World Cup circuit is grueling for American skiers. While most competitors go home in between races, the U.S. team is in Europe for the entire four-and-a-half-month season. But there are plans to bring a World Cup race, stateside, to Minneapolis.
"It's gonna be a very good time out there and we're looking forward to it," said U.S. Cross Country Ski Communications Manager Tom Horrocks. "U.S. Ski and Snowboard is obviously a huge supporter of it and doing everything we can to make it happen."
This Minnesota event was going to happen in early 2020, but had to be canceled. Diggins says the impact it could have on the growth of the sport would be huge.
"For a whole lot of reasons besides just the fact that we'd love to race at home, I think it'd be really amazing to get these races off the ground," she said.
The race would be held at Theodore Wirth Park. Though she's been to three already, Diggins confirmed that she has taken aim at the 2026 Olympics in Italy.
"I don't have to prove anything to anyone, I could retire right now and be really happy with my life," she said. "But I'm still here because I love to do what I do and I love my team. And I think this is super fun, and that's why I'm racing. I'm not racing because I feel like I have to win or I have to prove anything. And I think that takes a lot of the pressure off."
