![[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Feb 12, 2026; Tesero, Italy; Bronze medallist Jessie Diggins of the United States celebrates on the podium in the women's cross country skiing 10km interval start freestyle during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium.](https://statico.profootballnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/23062019/02-23-26-2-1920x1281.jpg "‘I Could Not Be More Proud’ – Jessie Diggins Leaves It All on the Snow in Tearful Winter Olympic Farewell")
Jessie Diggins ended her Olympic career in Milan and has been unable to stop feeling overwhelmed with love and gratitude after her final race. Diggins has been sitting atop the list of the most decorated cross-country skier in the US, with three World Cup overall titles, seven World Championship wins, and four Olympic podiums, having recently placed third in the 10km freestyle event in Milan.
Jessie Diggins’ Emotions Overflow as She Ends Her Olympic Career at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Diggins forged a legendary career, starting to ski at age four and competing against older girls at 11. She even forwent a scholarship opportunity from Northern Michigan University and shifted to racing professionally full-fledged. She made the 2014 Olympic team but finished eighth. She bounced back in the 2018 edition and won gold in the team sprint event, followed by silver medals in the 30km freestyle and the individual sprint at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
The 34-year-old gave the Games another shot in 2026, but her campaign was far from ideal. She crashed in her first race and injured her ribs, which affected her breathing. Despite the setback, Diggins showed remarkable resilience by winning bronze in the 10km freestyle, a result that stood as a testament to her champion’s heart and exceptional calibre.
In a recent Instagram post, the cross-country skier shared that her emotions overflowed not because it was her final Olympic appearance, but because of the memories she would carry home. After her 50km mass-start classic cross-country exploits, she bid an emotional goodbye to the people of Val di Fiemme and admitted she couldn’t imagine racing longer distances due to her breathing difficulties.
Despite her struggles, Jessie Diggins said she competed purely for the love of skiing and couldn’t feel her body after the event, but had no regrets in her heart.
“I could not be more proud.. If you’d told me a year ago that I’d be in the fight for a medal in a 50km CLASSIC race, I would have laughed. If you’d told me 2 weeks ago, I would have said, “impossible – I can’t even take a deep breath right now”. If you’d told me 14km into the race, I still wouldn’t have believed you. But all I wanted was to ski the best that I was capable of with what I had today, and I kept putting myself out there and finished the race with absolutely nothing left in my body. And that feels AMAZING,” she said.
She also thanked her team, family, and friends after her achievement at the Winter Games. Diggins finished fifth in the final race in a time of 2:23:14.6.
The 34-year-old, along with her teammate, ended a U.S. Olympic medal drought in cross-country skiing with their gold medal-winning performance in 2018. Diggins not only added another laurel to her résumé but also found a platform to advocate for causes she cares about, including climate change, mental health, and encouraging young women in sport.
She made her stance clear, stating that her goal was to compete with honesty and respect for others, and to promote compassion and love rather than discrimination or violence.
