February 15, 2018 (PyeongChang, South Korea) – American star, Jessie Diggins, was in contention for a medal but fell off the pace to finish fifth in the women’s 10k FR at the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Center.

Norway’s Raghnild Haga was crowned the winner with a 20.3-second margin over Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla taking home the silver. Marit Bjoergen (Nor) and Krista Parmakoski of Finland tied for the bronze.

Team USA’s Sadie Bjornsen was 15th followed by Kikkan Randall in 16th with Liz Stephen in 30th. The top Canadian was Emily Nishikawa in 32nd followed by Dahria Beatty in 37th, Cendrine Brown in 43rd and Anne-Marie Comeau in 61st.

“To be that close and to ski with the best in the world is so awesome and I could not have gone any harder, I don’t know where I would have found those seconds,” said Diggins just 3.3-seconds off the podium. “I pushed my body way past my limit and that’s a really good feeling to know I gave it my all and I am really proud of my race.”

Bjornsen is hoping her best races are yet to come. “It was a really fun day out there racing. Definitely one of the more fun races I have had at the Olympics. It is the first super pleasant day in South Korea since I got here, and I was just enjoying every bit of being out there,” said Bjornsen.

“Low wind, sunny, and just beautiful. I felt good out there, and gave my all. The result was nothing special unfortunately, but I still have some hope for the races to come. Sometimes you just need to get a few races in to really find your groove, so I have the belief. And, the next race is the most exciting one, so I have nothing but good butterflies and feelings inside! I can’t even wait,” she added.

Randall was stoked and she starts to find her form. “I’m pretty happy with today’s race. I was able to recover from a disappointing Skiathlon and find my own rhythm. I feel like I skied a steady pace through the whole race. I started a little hotter than I meant to but was able to maintain the pace. Legs were definitely tired in the end!  It was fun to be able to sit in the leaders chair for a few minutes,” commented Randall.

“So heartbreaking to see Jessie narrowly miss that medal for the third race in a row. Sadie and I thought for sure she had it and we were ready to run out and greet her in the finish. She’s been skiing incredible here and her ability to fully empty the tank is inspiring,” shared Randall. “Now we look ahead to the relay events, which is what I have personally been looking forward to the most since Sochi. The competition is going to be tough but we are excited to be in the mix.”

Canada’s Nishikawa was also happy with her performance.”My goal was to ski each section of the course the best I could. I think I really did that,” she commented post-race. “I just focused on them and the technical aspects to push me over the top and work the corners well. I think I did a good job of all of that so I’m really, really happy with my race today.”

Her teammate Beatty was also proud of her effort for Canada. “I was really happy with today’s race. I just really tried to focus on pushing hard and getting into that hurt locker today and skiing smoothly there. It was definitely the best race so far for me. The first 5km felt really good and in control,” said Beatty.

“I lost a little bit of time at the end but I was still pushing really hard and I was really satisfied to have a top-40 and feel like I gave everything I had when I crossed the finish line,” she concluded.

Results here.