Diggins Wins, Becoming Most Decorated American Cross Country Skier in History
On a beautiful bluebird day in Davos, Jessie Diggins claimed her 14th World Cup victory and made her mark in the history books by becoming the most decorated American cross country skier in history.
Standing atop the podium with Diggins was teammate Rosie Brennan, who was third, right behind Ingvlid Flugstad Oestberg of Norway.
With her 14th World Cup victory, Diggins, a three-time Olympian, moved into second in the overall World Cup standings and continues to chase the overall World Cup title - the crystal globe, which she won in the 2021 season.
In the individual start freestyle race, Diggins started in the 27th position in a field of 49 skiers. Throughout the 20k, she never ventured far from third place, going between first and third through every kilometer marker and ultimately winning the race once all skiers crossed the finish line.
"Wow! What a day! Once again, super thank you to the team, we had some really awesome skis," Diggins told us. "I felt really good today. I was able to bounce back really well from the sprint day the day before and I felt like I could push really hard. I just raced as hard as I could until I got to the finish line, which was really cool. I was just trying to ski my own race and ski as smart and as powerful as I could. This win means a lot, as it breaks an American record for the number of World Cup wins which is super exciting and fun!"
On the women's side, the American's had a solid day of racing, with all women in the top 50 scoring World Cup points. Brennan was third, Sophia Laukli was 17th, Alayna Sonnesyn in 26th and Lauren Jortberg in 39th.
It was a nice showing for the American men. Gus Schumacher lead the charge in 18th, with Ben Ogden right behind in 22nd. For Schumacher, his top 20 finish marks his best distance result in Davos. But, at the end of the day, the Norwegian men were on top, taking the first six spots with Simen Hegstad Grueger crossing the line in 42:12.3 minutes.
"It was really validating of my plan to start the season less sharp than in the past because it's gotten better every week and the trend is always something I like to look at for how the training is going," said Gus Schumacher in a post-race reflection. "I am really stoked to train a little now and bring the momentum to the tour because today felt really solid. I was skiing really smoothly and my energy and technique felt good, so I'm happy with it!"
Similar to the women, all U.S. men were in the top 50, with all athletes adding more World Cup points to their tally. Hunter Wonders was 33rd, Scott Patterson 38th and Zak Ketterson 43rd.
Now, the team will rest, enjoy the holidays and prepare for the Tour de Ski!
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