Olympic-Best Relay Finish For Team USA

Team USA finished fifth in the 4x5k relay Saturday evening at the Alpensia Cross Country Skiing Centre at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games - an Olympic best for the women.

“That was our best Olympic finish ever,” said Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska), who along with her teammates Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.), Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash) and Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) finished 1:20.5 off the gold medal time of Team Norway. “While we tend to be really focused on the medals because we know deep in our hearts that it is possible, it’s amazing to put together four strong legs and to get that best ever result.”

Sweden took the silver medal, hitting the line exactly two seconds behind Norway, while the Olympic Athletes from Russia earned the bronze medal.

“Anytime you get to put on the relay socks it’s an honor and a privilege and you know your racing not just for yourself, your racing for your teammates and Team USA,” Diggins said. “It’s this really exciting rush of adrenalin and you just go out there and you leave everything you’ve got on the course.  There is more to it than just medals.”

“There is nothing I enjoy more than trying to win, and we tried that today,” head coach Matt Whitcomb said. “We worked really well as a team of athletes and staff and the result was not what we wanted.”

Team USA will have one final shot at an Olympic medal in the team sprint Wednesday.

Up next, the men compete in the 4x10k team relay Sunday at the Alpensia Cross Country Skiing Centre at 3:15 p.m. KT / 1:15 a.m. EST.  Starting for Team USA are Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, Vt.), Reese Hanneman (Anchorage, Alaska), Scott Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska), and Noah Hoffman (Aspen, Colo.).

RESULTS
Women’s 4x5k relay

START LIST
Men’s 4x10k relay