Diggins Leaves Ruka With a Statement Podium, Second in 20k Skate; Ketterson Career Best in Ninth

Jessie Diggins delivered one of the standout performances of the weekend in Ruka, charging to second place in the women’s 20k skate mass start, her 80th World Cup podium, and reminded the world why she’s the reigning overall World Cup champion.

From the opening kilometer, the race took shape, with Sweden’s Ebba Andersson and Frida Karlsson leading, along with Norway’s Heidi Weng in the chase. Diggins had to hold on from the get-go. 

Diggins—last year’s winner of this race—tucked in right behind the Norwegians and Swedish women. Maximizing every downhill with her trademark tuck skate, staying calm, patient and perfectly positioned. As Kikkan Randall mentioned in the commentary of the race, a 20k is all about energy management, and Diggins executed that strategy from the start, until the last kilometer.

At halfway, around 10k, she sat just five seconds off the lead, the lone non-European surrounded by a sea of Swedish and Norwegian red and blue. Karlsson and Andersson continued to trade pulls at the front, with teammate Jonna Sundling sitting in third, but Diggins held her ground as the pace continued to rise.

With about 15k skied, Diggins remained only a few seconds back, with many wondering if she had it in her to make it to the front. Karlsson then launched an acceleration on the final lap, looking to outpace her teammates and string out the lead pack. Diggins visibly dug deep—at one point literally pounding her legs with her hands on the final downhill—before setting up one final push of her own.

And on the final Ruka climb, Diggins delivered the move she’s known for. She surged past Karlsson on the outside, almost getting caught in the netting, with a perfectly timed attack and skied over the top. Though it wasn't enough to catch Sweden's Sundling, who took the win, Diggins claimed her first World Cup podium of the season, her 80th of her career, and set the tone for what's to come. Norway's Heidi Weng finished third.

For the men, it was all about Zak Ketterson. With frozen, lightning-fast tracks, the men covered the 20k course in just 44 minutes. The conditions created a high-speed, tactical race—and two Americans were right in the mix.

Ketterson and Gus Schumacher skied confidently near the front from the early laps, consistently positioning themselves in the lead train. With about 2k to go, Schumacher suffered an unfortunate crash after skiing on a broken ski for a few kilometers after a tangle with another racer. Though he was back on his feet quickly, the burst of momentum was gone and he lost critical spots in the tightly packed group. For Ketterson, it was all about staying calm and ensuring that he was keeping his momentum up to the finish line. 

"I have had a ton of mass start races, both on World Cup and elsewhere, where I just was frantic and wasting energy for large parts of the race," said Ketterson, when asked about the importance of pacing. "That meant I’d always reach the critical stage at the end of the race with no energy left. I think I’m finally learning to be calmer and spend energy more efficiently."

Ketterson carried his form from his career-best World Cup finish two days earlier in the 10k classic. He held strong through the final lap and powered across the line in ninth—his first individual World Cup top-10 finish and another breakthrough moment in what is shaping up to be a standout season. Norway's Harald Oestberg Amundsen was first, Einar Hedegard was second and Sweden's Edvin Anger was third. 

"It feels amazing. My previous career best was from the end of the 2021-22 season, and I wasn’t able to come close to it for the next three seasons," said Ketterson. "It really wore at my confidence and self belief that it wasn’t able to beat that mark despite working my butt off year-after-year. To feel now that I finally got rewarded for years of hard work is the best feeling an athlete can ever feel."

The Stifel U.S. Ski Team had several athletes on course today, with Alayna Sonnesyn skiing to a top-30 result in 27th, Sophia Laukli  39th, Kendall Kramer 45th, Julia Kern 54th and Kate Oldham 62nd. For the men, Schumacher was 39th, Kevin Bolger 44th, John Steel Hagenbuch 45th, Zanden McMullen 57th, JC Schoonmaker 62nd and Luke Jager 64th. 

Now, the team heads to the site of the 2025 World Championships in Trondheim, Norway for a set of three races next weekend. 

RESULTS
Women
Men