Minnesota Olympian Makes History this Week in Beijing
It's incredible seeing these Olympians perform at such a high level. But then to see them break records and make history is even more impressive! A Minnesota Olympian was one of the most recent to make history. Jessie Diggins became the first American to ever win a medal in this competition.
In case you aren't familiar with Jessie Diggins, she's a cross-country skier that grew up in Afton, Minnesota. She's been to the Olympics before and has now made history at both the 2018 Winter Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympics.
On Tuesday, Jessie became the first American to ever win a medal in the cross-country freestyle sprint, according to USA Today. Bring Me the News says that the race is 1.5-kilometers (which is just under a mile) and Jessie did it in 3 minutes and 12.84 seconds to earn the bronze medal. She was just 0.28 seconds from the silver.
And if you think cross-country skiing a mile in 3 minutes is impressive, the New York Times describes the course as "furious" and "skis and poles flying from start to finish". The course is "built into the side of a hill that includes a lung-busting climb, a dicey descent and a final burst down the flat straightaway to the finish".
At the 2018 Winter Olympics Jessie and her teammate, Kikkan Randall won the first-ever US women’s gold medal in the cross-country team sprint, according to USA Today. Jessie will compete in the team sprint again this year with a different teammate though, this time it's Rosie Brennan. Let's see if she can snag another medal!