December 06, 2015 (Lillehammer, Norway) – In a stunning display of prowess and never-give-up strategy, Jessie Diggins anchored Team USA for a well-deserved bronze medal in the 4x5km Women’s Relay in Lillehammer, as Norway I took the gold and Finland captured the silver. The American women’s squad, and their now-famous knee-high socks, were on the relay podium here back in 2014 with Kikkan Randall… today’s race marked the third time in history that the USA has been on a relay podium.

Team USA (l-r) Sadie Bjornsen, Rosie Brennan, Jessica Diggins, Elizabeth Stephen © Nordic Focus

Diggins was fifth when tagged by Liz Stephen, who put in a tremendous leg herself moving up from 7th, and went to work first chasing down Charlotte Kalla (Swe) and then catching and overtaking Norway’s Ragnhild Haga for a brilliant brave victory by the the Afton, Minnesota skier. Diggins’ anchor time of 13:07.1 was the fastest of the leg and the second fastest of the day – only Therese Johaug (NOR) had a better time of 12:49.3.

“Super, super happy with today’s race! I’m really proud of our techs for making lightning fast skis and proud of my teammates for some gutsy racing out there. I love relays – I live for that anchor leg pressure and excitement, and I wanted so badly to help our team get a relay podium this season.

“So I just put my head down and hammered away out there fighting for each second, and I was happy with my tactical choices in where to pass and where to tuck in behind another skier. I think individual podiums are great and all that, but getting to share a medal with a team is such a bigger deal for me because we work so hard all year round together and travel all winter as a family. It was a great day for team USA,” wrote Diggins.

Jessica Diggins (USA) at the finish © Nordic Focus

Rosie Brennan kicked things off for the Americans and looked very strong but settled into 7th place as the Norwegian teams dominated with Finland in the mix.

“Today was just an unbelievable day. The conditions were very challenging for me and I was doing my best to stay as close to the leaders as possible, but lost more time than I had hoped. When we got to the venue this morning, it quickly became obvious that it had frozen harder than we thought it would over night and the course was an ice rink,” said Brennan.

“This is my worst nightmare and made my nerves and fears shoot through the roof. There are some fast downhills on this course and it was a scary situation. I felt comfortable climbing so I tried to make the most of the climbs knowing that the downhills are not my strength. I went from feeling a little disappointed, to nervous, to overjoyed quite quickly as the race progressed. I think that speaks hugely to the girls on this team. They never give up and we all believe anything is possible,” added Brennan.

Sadie Bjornsen battled to 6th place with Sweden and Russia but ended up tagging Stephen in 7th at 1:29 behind Norway I. “When Rosie tagged me, I went out a little too hard and had to pay the price for the next 2.5 kilometers on such a challenging course. The downhills were solid ice so recovering was not so easy after going a bit too hard. Fortunately, I was able to keep us in contention.

“It was a great day in the USA team today. All the girls skied their hearts out today and Liz and Jessie did some incredible work. Big thanks to the team, the wax techs, and all the people cheering us on! A relay day truly takes a team,” said Bjornsen.

Team USA's now famous socks... © courtesy of Jessie Diggins

Stephen attacked putting the US in 4th place at one point as she was in a see-saw battle with Sweden’s Maria Rydqvist, while Johaug pulled away on her own up front. Russia was there as well challenging with Polina Kalsina when Stephen tagged Diggins at 2:10 behind Heidi Weng (NOR) and 3s behind Kalla.

“Today’s relay was made up of four very solid legs of racing, and in this event that is what you need. What is inspiring about this to all of us I think is that we all feel there is more to come from our individual performances and that’s a cool thing. On our best days we may be able to fight for the taller steps on the podium.

“It was incredible to be back on this podium two years later and as this was my real goal race for period 1 I am really happy with how it turned out. Standing on a podium with my team is such a special feeling for me. It was a great day and I am so proud of our whole team,” shared Stephen.

Diggins was on fire taking charge quickly as she dropped Kalla and then focused on Haga who succumbed to the American’s challenge in the end and settled for 4th as Diggins crossed the line in 3rd for the USA… she collapsed in exhaustion at the finish as her teammates ralleyed around her.

“Full-on heroics by the USA women’s relay team today in Lillehammer,” tweeted Chris Grover, Head Coach of USSA.

Full results here.

Women's Relay Podium (l-r) Finland, Norway I, USA © Nordic Focus