Diggins starts defending the Tour de Ski title with a victory in the first stage
Jessie Diggins likes to say happiness is fast. She proved this on Tuesday when she won the inaugural stage of the Tour de Ski race in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
The Tour de Ski defender was cheered on by her family – including parents Deb and Clay Diggins of Afton – as she took first place in the freestyle sprint. Diggins achieved a time of three minutes and 0.12 seconds in the final, beating Norwegian Mathilde Myhrvold by 0.13 seconds. Julia Kern from the US was fourth.
Diggins ’win was the first in a World Cup season. She also took three other places, ranking third in the women’s standings.
“It was so special for me to have my family here,” said Diggins, whose parents, sister and fiancé traveled to Switzerland to spend Christmas with her. “I came to [Tuesday’s race] in a good place, rested and ready. ”
The U.S. will not name its Olympic running teams until mid-January, but Diggins has already met the criteria for inclusion in the Beijing Games list. On Tuesday, she won the semifinals and finals on her way to her 12th career World Cup victory. Last year, she became the first American to win a joint title at the Tour de Ski, an annual multi-stage event.
On Tuesday, Diggins overtook in the second round of the finals and overtook Myhrvold and Anamarija Lampic from Slovenia. Kern’s fourth place also met the criteria for Olympic selection.
Alayna Sonnesyn, a native of Plymouth and a high school graduate from Wayzata, also competed for the U.S. and won 58th place.
The Tour de Ski continues on Wednesday in Lenzerheide with a 10-kilometer classic race for women and a 15k classic for men. The event includes six races in eight days, spread over three cities in Switzerland, Germany and Italy.