Pioneers: Finding Precious Medals in Falun
America is a country motivated by possibility. So, it was fitting that when Jessie Diggins and Caitlin Gregg made American skiing history in the 10k freestyle event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships on Tuesday, it was done by taking full advantage of delicate conditions and a fleeting opportunity created by amazing ski service, a snowstorm and years of athlete preparation.
“Our coaches made a-MAZE-ING skis,” Diggins explained on Norwegian television. “We had this opportunity and we took it.” Diggins then shifted to her team in the next breath, “To be part of the amazing atmosphere on the U.S. Ski Team? It’s incredible. We have so much fun together. We create this really positive energy. I feel really proud to be a part of the team.”
How the team fits so largely into the podium results for Diggins and Gregg is on display year ‘round. On the World Cup circuit, finding a cultural balance between the euro-centric racing culture, while still carving out their own distinct space makes the current U.S. team a collection of pioneers. Witness their self-assured Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars dance off, their signature relay socks, their faces painted with friendly glitter war paint. Andy Newell even sports a torso-long tattoo that reads like a cowboy’s creed, “All in. Without hope.” That future-forward attitude is what makes U.S. prospects in cross country skiing possible. And the prospectors struck silver and bronze yesterday on their World Championship claim.
World Championships medal love. (Getty Images/AFP-Christof Stache)
The culture that Diggins and Gregg flaunted yesterday has prompted countless imitators in the American junior ranks back home. “We talked a lot about how (winning these medals) will help the popularity of cross country skiing and the popularity of our sport,” Gregg explained. Gregg and Diggins—along with the majority of their team—work with kids through various mentoring programs when not travelling to races. For example, Gregg and her husband Brian coach one of the largest clubs in the country, Loppet Nordic Racing in Minneapolis, which works with elite racers and on introducing urban kids to cross country skiing. Both Gregg and Diggins are vital in spreading the self assurance that it requires to go toe-to-toe with the best cross country skiers in the world for five months.
“We were lucky,” Head Coach Chris Grover said of the results. “But we were also in a place to capitalize on that luck. We were ready when it became possible.”
Diggins and Gregg made the rounds following the medal ceremony in a state of bliss. It was a celebration press tour that asked the same questions, “When did you think it was possible? Did you believe this could happen?” Their answers were also distinctly American. Gregg explained it succinctly, “I skied like I believed a medal was possible.”
