When the 2025/2026 World Cup season begins this week, the cross-country skiing world has a unique opportunity to reflect on the career and legacy of one of its most influential champions.

For more than a decade, Jessie Diggins has been one of the sport’s brightest global stars. This record-setting athlete pushed beyond traditional boundaries and helped redefine what American skiers could achieve on the world stage. Now that she announced this winter will be her final season, the sport prepares to celebrate and say goodbye to an athlete who changed everything.

This is the story of one of the most influential cross-country skiers of her generation: her rise, her achievements, and the legacy she leaves behind.

Also Read – Confirmed: “My final year of ski racing”

Early years and beginnings

Jessie Diggins was born on August 26, 1991, in Afton, Minnesota, a place where winter culture and outdoor sports are woven into daily life. She grew up in a family that loved skiing, and she joined her first club as a child. Her energy, competitiveness, and love for movement were evident early. As she advanced through junior competitions, she emerged as one of the most promising young athletes in the United States.

Diggins joined the World Cup circuit in 2011. From the start, her enthusiasm, relentless work ethic, and attacking race style quickly drew attention among teammates, coaches, and international competitors.

Breakthrough and ascent on the World Cup circuit

Making her World Cup debut in Drammen, Norway, in 2011, Diggins began climbing the ranks with a combination of technical sharpness, high-tempo skiing, and mental resilience. Her first international breakthrough came in 2013, when she and Kikkan Randall won the team sprint at the World Championships in Val di Fiemme — the first world title for the United States in cross-country skiing.

From that point on, Diggins’ career trajectory was defined by steady progression. She reached new levels of consistency, adaptability, and endurance, becoming one of the rare skiers equally competitive in sprint, 10km, skiathlon, and long-distance formats.

Her first individual World Cup win came in 2016, after which she transitioned from an occasional contender to a regular podium athlete.

Olympic history and the rise to global stardom

At the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, Diggins delivered one of the most iconic moments in American skiing history. In a dramatic final sprint, she overtook Stina Nilsson of Sweden to win Olympic gold in the team sprint with Kikkan Randall, claiming the first Olympic cross-country skiing gold medal ever won by the United States. The image of Diggins lunging across the line became an instant classic.

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Four years later, at the Beijing 2022 Olympics, she confirmed her status as one of the world’s best all-around skiers. She won silver in the 30km free — becoming the first non-European athlete to medal in the event — and bronze in the sprint free, the first individual Olympic medal for a U.S. woman in cross-country skiing.

With these achievements, Diggins became the most decorated American cross-country skier in Olympic history.

Also Read: Therese Johaug wins the 30km skate at the Olympics

World Championship success and Tour de Ski triumphs

Beyond the Olympics, Diggins built a formidable record at the World Championships. Her crowning moment came in 2023 in Planica, where she won gold in the 10km free — the first individual world title ever won by an American athlete in the sport. She added a bronze in the team sprint that same week, further cementing her all-around credentials.

Read More: Emotional Jessie Diggins claims gold for USA at the World Championships

She is also one of the most successful Tour de Ski athletes of her generation. Diggins won the Tour de Ski twice, in 2021 and 2024, displaying a rare balance of sprint sharpness, climbing efficiency, and day-to-day consistency. She was the first non-European athlete, male or female, to win the Tour.

Also Read: Laukli wins Tour de Ski Final Climb in Val di Fiemme – Diggins overall winner

Dominance in the 2020s: a complete and consistent champion

The early and mid-2020s marked the absolute peak of Diggins’ career. She won the Overall World Cup a record three times for an American athlete (2021, 2023, 2025), along with multiple discipline World Cup titles. She accumulated 29 World Cup victories and nearly 80 podiums, all while maintaining one of the highest race volumes on the circuit.

Her versatility stands out even in a historically strong era of women’s skiing. Diggins was capable of podiums in classic technique, freestyle, sprints, interval-start races, mass starts, and stage events — something very few skiers in the modern era can match. She excelled in chaotic mass sprints, high-tempo skate races, and all the tactical complexities of the World Cup.

But as defining as her technical strengths are, her resilience is even more so. Diggins often raced through setbacks — from illness to crashes to the now well-known episodes of racing through foot pain — and continued to deliver world-class performances. Her ability to suffer, endure, and push her limits became a trademark.

• 3 Olympic medals
• 7 World Championships medals
• 3 Overall World Cup Crystal Globes
• 3 Distance World Cup Globes
• 29 World Cup wins
• 79 World Cup podiums

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Beyond results: personality, advocacy, and influence

Jessie Diggins is known not only for her competitive fire but for her openness and humanity. One of her most impactful contributions has been her willingness to speak publicly about mental health and eating disorders, sharing her own story to reduce stigma and help younger athletes. Her two-part ProXCskiing.com interview series, “Breaking the Silence,” resonated widely and underscored her role as a leader beyond the ski tracks.

Her enthusiasm — the glitter, the face paint, the effusive celebrations — helped reshape the global perception of American skiing, making it more visible, approachable, and relatable to fans worldwide.

Read More
Breaking the Silence: Jessie Diggins Opens Up
Breaking the Silence: Jessie Diggins – Part 2

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Final season and farewell

In November 2025, Diggins confirmed that the 2025/2026 season will be her last. She expressed a desire to enjoy the winter, focus on the process, and finish her career in her own way. Her season will culminate at the World Cup finals in Lake Placid, in front of a home crowd — a symbolic and fitting closing chapter.

“I just want to enjoy it,” she said to FIS, the International Ski & Snowboard Federation, and added:

“Everything since the Minneapolis World Cup (in February 2024) has felt like a victory lap, and it’s just been super cool.”

“I don’t want to sound like ‘I’m just happy to be here,’ but I am. I want to enjoy it, soak it in, have fun with it, and be happy and healthy. That’s my biggest goal.”

Her second-biggest goal, however, is to “go after the Olympics with everything I have.”

“That is the peak of the season, and it’s the high point,” Diggins said.

Her retirement marks the end of a transformational era for U.S. cross-country skiing. She leaves the sport not simply as a grand champion, but as a cultural and sporting force who elevated the profile of American skiing globally.

Legacy of a trailblazer

Jessie Diggins leaves behind a legacy that goes far beyond statistics. Her impact can be summed up in several key dimensions:

• She shattered long-standing barriers for non-European athletes in a traditionally European-dominated sport.
• She inspired a generation of U.S. athletes through her visibility, leadership, and consistent excellence.
• She changed expectations — proving that Americans can win the World Cup, the Tour de Ski, and major championships.
• She strengthened the connection between athletes and fans, bringing new audiences and a fresh emotional dimension to the sport.
• She demonstrated extraordinary longevity, maintaining elite form for more than a decade.

Few athletes in modern cross-country skiing have combined global success, cultural impact, and personal authenticity the way Jessie Diggins has. Her final season will not only mark the end of an extraordinary career but the closing of a golden chapter in American skiing history.

As the 2025/2026 season begins, the world gets one final opportunity to watch an athlete whose energy, joy, and courage on snow have defined an era — and whose influence will last long after her final finish line.

FACTS Ruka World Cup Season 2025/2026

• When: Friday, November 28 to Sunday, November 30 
• Who: Elite national skiers – women and men
• Where: Ruka, Finland
• What: FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Ruka, Finland

PROGRAM

Friday, November 28: 10km Interval Start Classic (More details can be found HERE)

• 10:30 CET: 10km Individual C, Women
• 13:15 CET: 10km Individual C, Men

Saturday, November 29: Sprint Classic (More details can be found HERE)

• 8:55 CET: Sprint Qualify C, Women
• 8:55 CET: Sprint Qualify C, Men 
• 11:25 CET: Sprint Final C, Women 
• 11:25 CET: Sprint Final C, Men

Sunday, November 30: 20km Mass Start Freestyle (More details can be found HERE)

• 10:00 CET: 20km Mass Start F, Men
• 11:45 CET: 20km Mass Start F, Women

After Ruka, the World Cup heads to Norway (Trondheim). Then, to Switzerland (Davos) and the Tour de Ski (Italy). This period is followed by competitions in January in Germany (Oberhof) and Switzerland (Goms).

Then, it’s time for the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympic Games from February 7 to 22, 2026.

After Milano-Cortina, the World Cup ends the season with weekends in Sweden (Falun), Finland (Lahti), Norway (Drammen-Oslo), and the USA (Lake Placid).

Read More: Cross-country skiing World Cup: Calendar for the 2025/2026 winter season 

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

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