In 8-degree temps, Jessie Diggins fights through tough conditions in Olympic skiathlon
ZHANGJIAKOU – It was windy enough that Alpine skiers had their final day of training canceled for safety reasons and are hoping for better conditions for race day on Sunday.
But the cross country skiers put their gear on and their heads down and forged forward, with Jessie Diggins the fastest American finisher, taking sixth place in the 15-kilometer skiathlon at the Beijing Olympics in 45:04.2.
Norway’s Therese Johaug led from nearly the beginning to take the gold in 44:13.7.
Temps were 8 degrees but the cross wind ripping through Zhangjiakou National Cross Country Skiing Centre made it feel uninhabitable at times to normal people and tough even for these hardened athletes.
“Yeah that’s really something and I think that’s what actually makes it feel so cold,” said Diggins.
“They’re really good courses. I really like them. I think they’re very fair. They are definitely as hard as it looks. And I think that’s awesome; they should be right? We’re a really challenging sport. I love it, you’ve really got to work hard for it.”
The whole American cross country ski team remarked on the difficult conditions and the need to fight through them. Julia Kern said earlier races this year in Lillehammer were even colder and good preparation for the mountain zone of the Beijing Games.
“I learned that it’s a lot of V1 skating, it’s hard,” said Hailey Swirlbul. “It’s even harder than I thought in training. Really challenging, well designed courses here – it leads to fair racing but you have to be totally on your game.
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“It was a tough day out there for sure. With the variety of courses, there’s quite a few different courses in play here, so some of those courses will have more flat terrain. And more terrain blocked from the wind. As the week progresses I think it will change a little bit.”
Diggins climbed up from the 10th spot to the sixth after a strong push after the pit stop of this combination race that features 7.5K of classic and 7.5K of freestyle. Diggins, who will race again Tuesday in the sprint, said she was happy with her pace and eager to look at her stride.
“But this one I definitely finished with nothing left,” she said. “And that’s always the goal.”