Jessie Diggins’ dramatic dash earns bronze for U.S. in women’s 10km free

Jessie Diggins of the United States pushed through the pain of bruised ribs on Thursday to claim bronze in the women’s 10km free race at Milan Cortina 2026.

Frida Karlsson of Sweden flew through the women’s 10km free race to claim her second gold medal of the Winter Games, and her teammate Ebba Andersson won her second silver medal of the games at about 46 seconds behind. The two repeated their wins from the skiathlon on Saturday, the same event where Diggins was injured in a crash.

“I’m the happiest bronze medalist in the world. I’m so grateful for everyone getting me here,” Diggins said.

Diggins sprang out of the gate with her game face and was ready for her best discipline. Coming off two disappointing results from her injuries, she was motivated to get to the podium and raced her hardest until she collapsed at the finish line at a time of 23 minutes 38 seconds. This individual bronze medal was her fourth Olympic medal as a legendary Team USA skier competing in her final Olympic Games.
 

As the race results came in, it was a battle for bronze between Diggins and Heidi Weng of Norway. Diggins trailed Weng’s time during her race as she fought through visible pain to cross the finish line seven seconds faster than Weng. 

“You can block out the pain to some degree while you’re racing, but when you finish, it all comes flooding in,” Diggins said. “I knew that was going to happen, but I was only going to let that in once I’d crossed the finishing line.”