Olympics: American Jessie Diggins wins bronze medal

U.S. Olympian Jessie Diggins pushed as hard as she could to cross the finish line in the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle in cross-country skiing to capture a bronze medal at the Winter Olympics on Thursday.

Diggins, battling bruised ribs, attempted to reach the podium between the Swedish and Norwegian skiers. She endured the pain and fell to the ground.

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She was writhing in pain just after crossing the line. The NBC broadcast heard Diggins screaming as her teammate tried to help her while she tried to catch her breath. Diggins did it for the love of the sport and can now call herself an Olympic medalist. She crossed the finish line at 23.38.90.

Swede Frida Karlsson had the best time in 22:49.20, finishing 46.6 seconds ahead of fellow Swede Ebba Andersson. Norwegian Astria Oeyre Slind was just over 3 seconds behind Diggins.

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Jessie Diggins of the United States and Hailey Swirbul of the United States react after the race, February 12, 2026. (Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach)

It was Team USA’s first medal on the day, as the United States looked to rival Italy and Norway in the total medal standings.

Diggins was a silver medalist at the 2022 Beijing Olympics in this event. She also won a bronze medal in the individual sprint at these Games. Diggins was part of the gold medal-winning team sprint at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.

She can still win other medals with the classic 50 meters and the 4×7.5 kilometer relay to come.

Jessie Diggins of the United States and Krista Parmakoski of Finland in action on February 12, 2026. (Reuters/Stéphanie Lecocq)

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Diggins and American Ben Ogden are now medalists in this sport. Ogden won a silver medal in the men’s classic sprint earlier this week.