Jessie Diggins Battles Through Broken Ribs to Win Bronze in Her Final Olympics
American cross-country skiing legend Jessie Diggins delivered one of the most emotional performances of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Thursday, powering through a painful rib injury to claim bronze in the women’s 10km interval start freestyle — her fourth Olympic medal and first in that specific event for the United States.
The 34-year-old crossed the finish line with a late, agonizing surge, collapsing to the snow in pain and exhaustion. Teammate Hailey Swirbul was the first to reach her side.
Diggins clocked a time of 23:38.9, finishing just 3.1 seconds behind silver medalist Ebba Andersson of Sweden. Fellow Swede Frida Karlsson dominated the race to take gold with a time of 22:49.2, more than 46 seconds clear of the field.
It was a historic result — the first time the United States had ever reached the podium in the women’s cross-country 10km freestyle at the Olympics. Diggins is now responsible for four of the six all-time Olympic cross-country skiing medals won by American athletes.
Diggins had bruised her ribs during a crash in Saturday’s skiathlon, yet still fought back to compete at the highest level. Her teammate Swirbul put the effort in perspective: “I worked as an EMT last winter and I saw some people in pain for broken bones and Jessie looked comparable, but she’s okay.”
Norway’s Astrid Oeyre Slind had a chance to take Diggins’ spot on the podium but finished less than four seconds back.
