Jessie Diggins and Julia Kern won silver in the team sprint classic at the Nordic World Ski Championships on Wednesday, securing the US their second-ever world medal in the event’s classic style.
The American team finished 2.9 seconds behind Sweden’s Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist to win bronze. Two years earlier, Diggins and Kern had won a bronze medal in the freestyle portion of the competition. Diggins started the race for the United States, preparing Kern to anchor the final lap. The two, longtime training partners and World Cup roommates, have raced together for a decade. Their medal was a historic achievement for the US, which has traditionally struggled in classic-style races.
We both love team events because you’re not just fighting for yourself, but for each other and our whole team,” Kern said.
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway won his fourth gold of the championships as he led his team to victory in the men’s race. Klaebo and Erik Valnes dominated the race from the beginning to the end, with Klaebo winning by more than four seconds. Finland edged out Sweden by one-hundredth of a second for silver in a tight battle for the remaining podium spots.
Due to Sundling’s preparation of Dahlqvist for the final lap, Sweden prevailed over the United States to win the women’s race. Though she was reeled in by the chasers, Dahlqvist held on to win gold by 2.9sec.
For Diggins, the silver marked her seventh career world championship medal. It was also just the second US podium in a classic team sprint since the discipline was introduced.
With relays and long-distance races still to come, Norway has won all four men’s events so far, while Sweden continues to dominate the women’s competition. The US will look to build on their success in the final races of the championships.
Over the past week, Diggins placed 23rd in the individual sprint (freestyle) and 13th in the skiathlon (10km each of classic and freestyle). She cited difficulties with her ski setup after those races, then sat out Tuesday’s 10km classic.
“I had to keep believing, I knew my fitness was there, I knew my body was there, you just need everything to come together at a championship and I think it makes it even sweeter that it did come together on a team day,” Diggins said, according to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation.
“It was a big test of faith and belief.”
The US team now turn their focus to the remaining races of the world championships in Trondheim, with the men’s and women’s relays on Thursday and Friday, followed by the 50km freestyle mass starts over the weekend.