No one can push herself as hard. No one wears her heart more openly. Imagine a car that keeps running even when the fuel tank is empty.

That is the 34-year-old carrying the hopes of the U.S. team on the cross-country tracks in Val di Fiemme, while worrying most about the situation back home.

Jessie Diggins is an emotional athlete. She uses motivation as fuel and keeps going even when her body’s regular fuel has run out.

“I thought you were going to collapse on the climb on the second-to-last lap,” I say after the final World Cup race in Goms.

“I thought so too,” Diggins laughs.

Yet she sprinted to second place in the 20km classic mass start, a distance her coaches might have doubted when she was younger. Jessie Diggins once struggled with classic technique. But she has fought her way into the world elite through determination and constant technical improvement.

It is in freestyle that she truly feels at home. That is why she is one of the biggest favorites in the Olympic 10km freestyle. It is her strongest event, even though she now competes at the highest level in all formats after more than ten years among the world’s best.

Also Read – Olympics 2026: Complete guide to the women’s 10km interval start in freestyle technique

Jessie Diggins took her first World Cup victory in 2016. Since then, she has won races every season except for 2020. Her most successful campaigns came in 2024 and 2025, when she claimed six victories in each season. She competes in nearly every race and works systematically toward the overall World Cup title. She leads again this year, with Sweden’s Moa Ilar closest behind.

Worried about home

Now in her final season, the 34-year-old hopes to finish with Olympic gold and lift the World Cup trophy one last time.

Read More – Jessie Diggins: portrait of an American icon in her golden final chapter

But she worries about what is happening at home.

Diggins is from Afton, just outside Minneapolis. Recent events in her home state have deeply affected her.

“It’s difficult,” she admits when I meet her in Goms just before the Olympics.

“It has been terrible to see what’s happening there.”

She feels powerless, unable to help from afar. While preparing for the Olympics in Europe, she closely follows developments back home.

At a press conference two days before the start of the Olympics in Val di Fiemme, the 34-year-old addressed the situation.

“It has been very hard to focus on skiing. It has made me wonder: what is the point of cross-country skiing, really?” she said.

She admits she worries about friends and family while being “stuck” in Europe until the season ends.

“People back home have said they’re happy to see me compete, and that was important for me to hear. Because it gives every race I start meaning. I’m focused on representing the part of the U.S. that is respectful and open. It’s important for me to show the world that I put love and respect first. Those are my values and what I want to live up to.”

Cross-country skiing schedule – Olympics 2026

Saturday, February 7: 20km Skiathlon C/F Women (More information can be found HERE)

• 13:00 CET: 20km Skiathlon C/F, Women

Sunday, February 8: 20km Skiathlon C/F Men (More information can be found HERE)

• 12:30 CET: 20km Skiathlon C/F, Men

Tuesday, February 10: Sprint C Women and Men (More information can be found HERE)

• 9:15 CET: Sprint Quali C, Women
• 9:55 CET: Sprint Quali C, Men
• 11:45 CET: Sprint Final C, Women
• 12:15 CET: Sprint Final C, Men

Thursday, February 12: 10km Interval Start F Women (More information can be found HERE)

• 13:00 CET: 10km Interval F, Women

Friday, February 13: 10km Interval Start F Men (More information can be found HERE)

• 11:45 CET: 10km Interval F, Men

Saturday, February 14: 4×7.5km Relay C/F Women (More information can be found HERE)

• 12:00 CET: 4×7.5km Relay C/F, Women

Sunday, February 15: 4×7.5km Relay C/F Men (More information can be found HERE)

• 12:00 CET: 4×7.5km Relay C/F, Men

Wednesday, February 18: Team Sprint Women and Men (More information can be found HERE)

• 9:45 CET: Team Sprint F Quali, Women
• 9:45 CET: Team Sprint F Quali, Men
• 11:45 CET: Team Sprint F, Women
• 11:45 CET: Team Sprint F, Men

Saturday, February 21: 50km Mass Start C Men (More information can be found HERE)

• 11:00 CET: 50km Mass Start C, Men

Sunday, February 22: 50km Mass Start C Women (More information can be found HERE)

• 10:00 CET: 50km Mass Start C, Women

Complete program for the Winter Olympic Games can be found HERE

Val di Fiemme, a classic Nordic skiing venue, promises thrilling racing on courses steeped in Olympic history. Fans around the World will have the chance to cheer on athletes across all distances, from explosive sprints to grueling marathons.

Are you interested in traditional cross-country skiing? Click HERE and read more about it.