I have a great photo of Jessie Diggins (a famous USA Nordic skier) and me on the podium at the World Junior Championship team selection in Alaska.
Jessie and I raced together for the first time on the world circuit in 2009. We were both new to international races, but we both made the top 30.
Jessie put glitter on our faces in France before our first international races, as a reminder to have fun.
At this Olympics, her final Olympics, she will put glitter on her face to remind herself of all the fun she’s had. I will put glitter on my cheeks too, to show my support for a fantastic athlete and friend.
In 2010, Jessie and I shared a room at the World Junior Championships in Germany. I performed poorly because I had compartment syndrome in both lower legs, but Diggins made the team proud. I can’t remember how she did it, but it was pretty impressive.
After my compartment syndrome surgery, my body shut down, and I lost the ability to digest food. I lost 40 lbs in 3 months while Jessie started another year of training.
I never recovered, and I live with multiple chronic illnesses that cause pain and suffering. Yet I still follow my friend and her remarkable career.
Here are some facts about Jessie Diggins:
- She is the most decorated cross-country skier in U.S. history.
- She is an Olympic gold, silver, and bronze medalist.
- She is a three-time overall World Cup leader (and leading again this year).
- She has over 87 World Cup podium finishes and 33 World Cup wins.
- She recovered from bulimia while racing and training for these high-level races.
Most importantly, Jessie Diggins is a light of joy in the darkness of our world. This girl smiles through her “pain cave,” celebrating her own wins and her teammates’ wins. She includes everyone, makes everyone feel special, and lights up a room with her presence. She’s silly and has a playful sense of humor.
And that’s just what I remember from racing with her when we were still kids. I’m sure she is so much more than that now.
In March of this year, I am traveling to Lake Placid, NY, to watch Jessie conclude her career at the season’s final two World Cups.
While I expect big emotions to arise from being back on the World Cup circuit (only now as a disabled spectator), I am going to let them out instead of holding them in and toughing it out. Despite those emotions, I’m going to be crying tears of joy because I’m proud of my friend.
I’ve been on this journey with Jessie Diggins since we were kids. We haven’t spoken since 2010, after I got sick and we both went to treatment for eating disorders, but I’ve followed her journey ever since. Our lives went in different directions when I was never able to recover and return to skiing. But I’m so proud of her. She’s lived the life I had hoped for, and she has done us proud.
While she is across the world and unable to protest ICE in her home state of Minnesota, she is bringing hope and light to so many Americans’ lives by skiing as fast as she can.
Good work, Diggins. You deserve the award as the greatest Nordic athlete ever. Bill Koch’s got nothing on you!
Photo by Nicolai Berntsen on Unsplash
