VIDEO SHOWS: INTERVIEW WITH U.S. CROSS-COUNTRY SKIER JESSIE DIGGINS/ VIDEO AND STILL PHOTOGRAPHS OF DIGGINS COMPETING/ INTERVIEW WITH DIGGINS' TEAMMATES JULIA KERN AND GUS SCHUMACHER ++EDITORS NOTE, SOME OF THE FILE VIDEO OF DIGGINS AT THE 2024 LOPPET CUP IS IN SLOW MOTION, AS PROVIDED AT SOURCE++ SHOWS: MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES (FILE - FEBRUARY 2024) (U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD - No resales) (PART MUTE) 1. VARIOUS OF U.S. CROSS-COUNTRY SKIER JESSIE DIGGINS AT 2024 LOPPET CUP ++EDITORS NOTE, SOME OF THIS VIDEO IS IN SLOW-MO, AS PROVIDED++ UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION (OCTOBER 27, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all) 2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. CROSS-COUNTRY SKIER, JESSIE DIGGINS, SAYING: "So it was really nice that my first Olympics, I came in with no pressure, no expectations. It's that beautiful moment when you're young of like, hey, if you outperform, good for you, kid, but, like, if you don't, no one really cares. Like, it's fine." PARK CITY, UTAH, UNITED STATES (FILE - OCTOBER 2, 2013) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE) 3. DIGGINS POSING FOR A PORTRAIT AT THE 2013 U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM MEDIA SUMMIT UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION (OCTOBER 27, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all) 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. CROSS-COUNTRY SKIER, JESSIE DIGGINS, SAYING: And then my second Olympics, came into Pyeongchang, and that's when we won the gold medal. And that quite literally changed my life overnight. Like everything changed. All of a sudden, I kind of had a lot more expectations, a lot more pressure on me. And so the last Olympics, I came in carrying the weight of like, or at least feeling like there was a lot of pressure on me to medal because I knew I could and it was very possible. And I think it has been interesting to see how it has changed mentally with the pressure and things like that. But going into this last Olympics or this upcoming, this most recent Olympics, I think for me, I'm trying to really just keep it back to basics. Like just be focusing on my process, just be focusing on those process goals and not worrying about outcome goals. I'm trying very hard to make sure that other people's expectations for me don't become my goals and my expectations for myself." BEIJING, CHINA (FILE - FEBRUARY 20, 2022) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE) 5. VARIOUS STILL PHOTOGRAPHS OF DIGGINS AT OLYMPICS VICTORY CEREMONY UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION (OCTOBER 27, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all) 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. CROSS-COUNTRY SKIER, JESSIE DIGGINS, SAYING: "Our sport is so, so challenging that having even the common cold will take you from medal potential to fighting for like 15th place. I mean, it is dramatic. And so, to be honest, you never know until you are in the Olympics, like, how people's preparation has gone. I think there's, gosh, yeah, there's there's there's a lot of women, honestly, who could all be on the medal stand. And so I think that's what makes it so exciting." MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES (FILE - FEBRUARY 2024) (U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD - No resales) (MUTE) 6. VARIOUS OF U.S. CROSS-COUNTRY SKIER JESSIE DIGGINS AT 2024 LOPPET CUP ++EDITORS NOTE, THIS VIDEO IS IN SLOW-MO, AS PROVIDED++ UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION (OCTOBER 27, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all) 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. CROSS-COUNTRY SKIER, JESSIE DIGGINS, SAYING: "It's been so cool to see the sport growing, because truly it is such a lifelong sport. And that's what I think is so cool about cross-country skiing is you're moving under your own power, it's not so hard on your joints. You know, you see 90-year-olds in Norway skiing to the grocery store. I mean, it's very cool that you get, this is something you can enjoy for your whole life. And yes, you can push your body super, super hard, but kind of like running, you can just go for a jog with friends and it can be super social and super easy and a nice way to just enjoy being outside. So I love seeing people get into it and I love seeing families get into it together. And for me, yeah, I would say after the 2018 Olympics, it was amazing to see the ripple effect. And that was one of the coolest things ever." BEIJING, CHINA (FILE - FEBRUARY 8, 2022) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE) 8. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF DIGGINS AT CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING WOMEN'S SPRINT FREE FINAL 9. DIGGINS LYING ON SNOW AT AT CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING WOMEN'S SPRINT FREE FINAL 10. DIGGINS HUGGING JONNA SUNDLING OF SWEDEN UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION (OCTOBER 27, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all) 11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. CROSS-COUNTRY SKIER, JESSIE DIGGINS, SAYING: "Racing with glitter has always been my thing. And it's this promise to myself that I'm going to go out there and have fun. Like, I'm doing this for me because I love it. This is a fun sport. I get to go do this. And it's been so cool seeing the glitter spread and seeing all these kids wearing it and just seeing what that has meant to other people as well." BEIJING, CHINA (FILE - FEBRUARY 10, 2022) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE) 12. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF DIGGINS AT WOMEN'S 10KM CLASSIC, WEARING GLITTER ON HER CHEEKS BEIJING, CHINA (FILE - FEBRUARY 10, 2022) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE) 13. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF DIGGINS AT WOMEN'S TEAM SPRINT CLASSIC SEMIFINALS, WEARING GLITTER ON HER CHEEKS NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (RECENT - OCTOBER 29, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all) 14. VARIOUS OF U.S. CROSS-COUNTRY SKIER JULIA KERN POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS 15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. CROSS-COUNTRY SKIER, JULIA KERN, SAYING: "Yeah, I feel extremely fortunate to have Jessie in my whole career. She came to visit me at my club, high school club practice and we got to race each other. I was in total awe. And it's crazy that now we've been teammates and close friends for the last ten years. I would not have dreamed of that when I was in high school. And it's those little moments make such a difference for kids to inspire them. And what I love is that she is so humble and is always l willing to learn. So she's willing to learn from me even if I'm younger and I have things to learn from her. And so it just makes training so much better when we're pushing each other, we're picking each other up on the hard days and we both have different skill sets to bring to the table." 16. U.S. CROSS-COUNTRY SKIER GUS SCHUMACHER POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS 17. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. CROSS-COUNTRY SKIER, GUS SCHUMACHER, SAYING: "I think it's great that we get to train alongside the women. They teach us a lot and I hope we teach them some things. Yeah, it just adds a greater weight to our group and to show that we're racing the same distances and obviously, I think, at this point everyone knows women are capable of the same things. But yeah, I think it's a great opportunity, especially that 50K, it's such an iconic distance for skiing and to have us all do that race one day after the other I think is great." MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES (FILE - FEBRUARY 2024) (U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD - No resales)(MUTE) 18. VARIOUS OF U.S. CROSS-COUNTRY SKIER JESSIE DIGGINS AT 2024 LOPPET CUP ++EDITORS NOTE, THIS VIDEO IS IN SLOW-MO, AS PROVIDED++ STORY: When Jessie Diggins clipped into her cross-country skis for her first Olympics over a decade ago, she had little idea of the impact she'd come to have on the sport. Now, as she prepares for the 2026 Milano Cortina games, all eyes - and expectations - are upon her. The 34-year old from Afton, Minnesota, has forever changed the face of cross-country skiing for American athletes, inspiring a generation of younger skiers and proving that the United States is capable of landing podium spots. She's won three Olympic medals - including the first-ever U.S. gold in the sport - and taken three overall World Cup titles, among countless other accolades. These upcoming games, her fourth, now carry even more weight for the U.S. superstar: In November, Diggins announced she would be retiring at the end of the season after the World Cup finals in Lake Placid, New York. "My first Olympics, I came with no pressure, no expectations... (The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)
