February 08, 2014 (Krasnaya Polyana, Russia) – American Jesse Diggins, from Afton, MN, delivered a dazzling debut Olympic performance finishing 8th in the women’s 15km skiathlon today at the Laura Cross Country Ski Center to kick off Team USA’s cross-country campaign at the Sochi 2014 Games.

The day belonged to Norway’s Marit Bjoergen as expected, but a thrilling late-race challenge by Charlotte Kalla of Sweden kept fans on the edge of their seats as Bjoergen responded with a gold medal surge to become the oldest female Olympic Winter Games gold medallist at 33 years 324 days. Kalla settled for silver and Heidi Weng claimed the bronze. The USA’s Elizabeth Stephen also had a good day at the office placing 12th.

Sunny skies and 3 degrees made for good yet tricky conditions for the classic leg and the race had a clean start without any crashes as a lead group of about 20 skiers soon formed including four Norwegians, four Finns, Kalla, Polish star Justyna Kowalczyk with the USA’s Sadie Bjornsen sitting in 18th.

Therese Johaug (NOR) began to push the pace and soon about a dozen skiers detached themselves with, Bjoergen, Weng, Kalla and Kowalczyk all at the front. Kowalczyk’s wax started to fail as she came out of the tracks to find grip but rumours of an ankle issue just before the race fueled speculation as to the fate of the dynamic skier in today’s race.

Leading into the transition there were six front runners including Bjoergen, Johaug, Kalla, Weng, Kowalczyk and Finland’s Aino-Kaisa Saarinen but fate saw both Kowalczyk and Saarinen suddenly fall in transition zone. The Finn managed to recover quickly, while Kowalczyk’s fall cost her 7 seconds.

Bjornsen led the Americans into the exchange in 21st with Diggins in 25th having moved up from 29th. Stephen, who had lost five spots early on, fought her way back up seven positions to come into transition in 30th. Then she and Diggins went to work  showing their superior skills in the skate portion of the race as they both climbed up the ladder, reaching for top 15 positions.

Diggins consistently picked off skiers moving up 17 spots until she reached 8th position by the end of the race, while Stephen gained 16 spots in the first half of the skate leg, then fell back two. She had to fight to reclaim those positions while gaining two more in the end to finish 12th.

The second half of the race was dominated by a strong Norwegian posse of three skiers in the lead group of the five as Kowalczyk dangled 7s behind with Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen not able to bridge. Team Norge, known for their solidarity, was also shouldering the sad news that the brother of one of their teammates had passed away the day before today’s race.

The skate leg featured a brutal climb and a zestly downhill where speeds of 73.5km/hr were recorded as Johaug once again pushed the pace as many thought she may be the heir apparent to Bjoergen for the Olympic throne. But the five protagonists seemed stuck together like glue with Saarinen the first to show signs of cracking.

On the final lap it was Johaug and Bjoergen setting the tempo as Kowalczyk dropped Niskanen but was 18.9s back and clearly not going to contend. Behind Diggins and Stephen continued their assault as Bjornsen struggled to keep pace with Holly Brooks further back.

Then Saarinen pounced with a surprising attack but the others countered quickly to ensure she did not escape. The cat-and-mouse game began again and this time Kalla of Sweden made a strong bid on the big climb and only Bjoergen could match her stride. As they crested the hill and began their descent Kalla went wide on the corner while Bjoergen deftly took the inside line and was suddenly in the lead as they made the final dash to the finish with Bjoergen out-sprinting Kalla for the gold.

Weng showed her strength claiming the bronze over Johaug by 1s with Saarinen another second just behind in fifth. Kowalczyk was sixth, Niskanen was seventh and Diggins crossed the line in 8th for a career-best result at her inaugural Olympic Games. Teammate Stephen followed 5s later in 12th. Bjornsen ended up 32nd and Brooks finished 47th.

At the finish Diggins said, “I’m on cloud 9 right now…thanks to an awesome peaking plan by my coaches and fantastic skis. Usually I loose way too much time in the classic leg. My plan was to relax and glide and stay out of trouble but keep in contact with the main group. I came into the exchange zone in the mid 20s and from there I told myselt to ramp it up and pick people off. Luckily I had just enough energy to kick it in at the finish.”

Stephen from East Montpelier, VT, earned her best-ever Olympic result in 12th, a mammoth increase over her 57th-place finish in the same event at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. “It’s great to be here on these tracks. They’re in perfect condition. The sun has been amazing the last few days.

“The classic was a bit tough for me today but the skate went well and it was fun to ski with Jessie for a little while. The fans were amazing. I couldn’t even hear my coach yelling something at me at one point. It reminded me of World Championships from Oslo a few years ago. People had white boards out to tell their athletes what they wanted! So, yeah the fans and everyone in Russia has been really great and it’s just fun to get the Olympics started again,” shared Stephen.

Bjornsen, who had a 5-week break from racing earlier in the season told Trax, “It was really exciting to start in my first Olympic race today! The pursuit is one of my weaker disciplines, especially with the size of the skate hills – but today I went out there with a goal of getting a race in. I wasn’t looking for any specific result other than to get some practice racing in at the Games – and have one more race under the belt before the 10k classic which I am really looking forward to.”

“My skis were great, the course was awesome, and the fans were perfect. I was hearing my name cheered on quite a bit, which I wasn’t expecting all the way over here in Russia, so I was really appreciating that! The sun was out in full force, but the tracks stayed pretty cool, making for some great skis,” added Bjornsen

For Canadian newcomers at their first Olympic Skiathlon, Emily Nishikawa finished 42nd, Brittany Webster was 51st and Amanda Ammar placed 55th.

“It was cool at the start to hear the crowd and just enjoying the moment,” said Nishikawa. She was a bit nervous but mostly just excited. “I had a good race. I was fighting hard. There was a few girls I was trying to hang in with. We were a bit back an forth.”  She used smart pacing as she needed to go out really hard in the classic knowing she would  loose time during the skate.

For her first international race in six years, Ammar was starstruck by the Norwegian and American superstars. “It was incredible,” she said “Just being here is a huge achievement for me.”

It’s a career highlight for Webster to be at the Olympics. Her results weren’t as good as she’d hoped, but she believes that can be fixed with one hard race. “Oh my god it was so amazing! The crowds, the sun, the course, the fans, the fast pace, everything was exciting and invigorating. I was really pumped to race, had a big smile on my face the whole time through the pain. I’m really looking forward to the classic race!”

Full results here.
Results detail here.