Diggins Eighth In Falun Sprint, Maintains World Cup Lead

Four Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team athletes qualified for Sunday’s FIS Cross Country World Cup classic sprint heats in Falun, Sweden, with Jessie Diggins leading the team finishing eighth and maintaining her World Cup overall lead.

"Whew, today was exhausting!" Diggins said. "I think all the all-out efforts in the cold finally started to catch up to me, as I was definitely getting pretty tired in my semifinal. But I was really proud of how I skied today - especially in really tricky kicking conditions with steep hills and tracks that were deteriorating, and a ton of herringbone out there. It’s a very encouraging step forward in my classic technical skiing. We also had great skis which are always important."

Along with Diggins, Sophie Caldwell Hamilton, Rosie Brennan, and JC Schoonmaker qualified into the quarterfinal round of heats. Diggins, however, was the only one to advance to the semifinals after finishing second in her quarterfinal heat. She finished fourth in her semifinal heat and did not advance to the finals. Overall, Caldwell Hamilton finished 16th, while Brennan was 19th. Schoonmaker was 18th.

For the U.S. men, Kevin Bolger, Luke Jager - competing in his first World Cup - and Logan Hanneman just missed qualifying for the heats, finishing 31st, 32nd, and 33rd respectively. The top 30 men and women from the qualifications advance to the heats.

Sweden’s Linn Svahn won Sunday’s Sprint - her second-consecutive victory after taking Saturday’s 10k classic. Slovenia’s Anamarija Lampic was second, followed by Sweden’s Jonna Sundling in third. In the men’s race, Norway’s Johannes Klaebo took the victory. Sweden’s Oskar Svensson was second, and Norway’s Solass Taugboel was third.

Diggins maintained her lead in the World Cup overall standings with 1,174 points. Russia’s 9 Yulia Stupak is second with 904 points, while Brennan is third with 879 points.

Up next, the World Cup tour moves to Ulricehamn, Sweden, for a freestyle sprint and team sprint, Feb. 5-6. Then it is on to Davos, Switzerland to prepare for the FIS Nordic World Championships from Feb. 22-March 7 in Oberstdorf, Germany. 

RESULTS
Women’s classic sprint
Men’s classic sprint

STANDINGS
Women’s World Cup overall
World Cup overall
Women’s World Cup sprint
Men’s World Cup sprint