Jessie Diggins Becomes First U.S. Woman To Win FIS Cross-Country World Cup Title
by TeamUSA
Jessie Diggins takes 1st place during the COOP FIS Cross-Country Stage World Cup Women's 10 km Classic Pursuit on Jan. 5, 2021 in Toblach, Italy.
With the cancellation of next week’s FIS Cross-Country Ski World Cup Finals, this coming weekend’s final event will now be something of a victory lap for overall world cup champion Jessie Diggins.
Diggins has officially clinched the historic title, just the second for an American and the first for an American woman, on the basis of her 342-point lead over second place Yuliya Stupak of Russia. With just two races now left on the calendar and 100 points awarded to first place, Diggins cannot be caught. Diggins is the first overall world cup champion from Team USA since Bill Koch did it in 1982. She is the first woman not from Norway to win the title since Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland in 2013.
Diggins enjoyed an outstanding 2020-21 season, winning four events, including becoming the first American to win the prestigious Tour de Ski. Diggins’ previous top finish in the world cup standings was second in 2017-18. In the middle of that campaign, Diggins and teammate Kikkan Randall won the first U.S. Olympic gold medal in cross-country skiing with their team sprint victory. The 29-year-old from Afton, Minnesota, is also a four-time world medalist, including a gold medal in 2013 in team sprint.
The 2020-21 world cup season concludes next weekend in Engadin, Switzerland. Diggins does have something to ski for as she could still clinch the distance title, which she has also never won. She leads Sweden’s Ebba Andersson by 62 points and Stupak and U.S. teammate Rosie Brennan are tied for third, 108 points behind.With the cancellation of next week’s FIS Cross-Country Ski World Cup Finals, this coming weekend’s final event will now be something of a victory lap for overall world cup champion Jessie Diggins.
Diggins has officially clinched the historic FIS title, just the second for an American and the first for an American woman, on the basis of her 342-point lead over second place Yuliya Stupak of Russia. With just two races now left on the calendar and 100 points awarded to first place, Diggins cannot be caught. Diggins is the first overall FIS World Cup champion from Team USA since Bill Koch did it in 1982. Paralympic teammate Oksana Masters has won Para Nordic World Cup titles in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.
Diggins enjoyed an outstanding 2020-21 season, winning four events, including becoming the first American to win the prestigious Tour de Ski. Diggins’ previous top finish in the world cup standings was second in 2017-18. In the middle of that campaign, Diggins and teammate Kikkan Randall won the first U.S. Olympic gold medal in cross-country skiing with their team sprint victory. The 29-year-old from Afton, Minnesota, is also a four-time world medalist, including a gold medal in 2013 in team sprint.
The 2020-21 world cup season concludes next weekend in Engadin, Switzerland. Diggins does have something to ski for as she could still clinch the distance title, which she has also never won. She leads Sweden’s Ebba Andersson by 62 points and Stupak and U.S. teammate Rosie Brennan are tied for third, 108 points behind.