Jessie Diggins' Heroic Fight Through Bruised Ribs Ended in Inspirational Bronze Medal

It's the fourth medal of the cross country skier's Olympic career.

Jessie Diggins after her remarkable run to bronze at the Milan Cortina Games. | Alex Slitz/Getty Images

U.S. cross-country skier Jessie Diggins summoned every bit of determination she could to fight until the finish line on Thursday to earn bronze in the women's 10km freestyle. In doing so she created one of the most memorable moments of the Milan Cortina Games.

Diggins, seeking her fourth Olympic medal, fell during the first event of her games, the 20km skiathlon last Sunday. The injury caused her to struggle in Tuesday's sprint classic as she was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Afterward she revealed that she was fighting through bruised ribs.

Still, she was resolute in her commitment to competing.

“I’m just going to keep showing up and doing the best I can,” she said in advance of Thursday's triumph, “and just putting everything I have out there.”

And she certainly did just that.

Below is the final stretch of her race, in which you can see her working through obvious pain. Upon crossing the finish line, she collapsed to the ground and was in audible discomfort.

Jessie Diggins FIGHTS to the finish to claim her fourth Olympic medal of her career! 💪 pic.twitter.com/zZKrQ2naKR

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 12, 2026

The 34-year-old American finished in 22 minutes, 49.2 seconds, nearly 50 seconds behind the Swedish duo of Friday Karlsson, who won gold, and silver medalist Ebba Andersson.

Diggins and Kikkan Randall won the U.S.'s first-ever Olympic medal in women's cross-country skiing in the team sprint freestyle at the 2018 Games. She followed that up by taking silver in the 30-kilometer freestyle and bronze in the sprint in 2022.

With her announced intention of retiring at the end of this season, it's tough to imagine authoring a more perfect coda.

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