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As the Loppet Cup approaches, Jessie Diggins has been asked many times what winning the race means to her. Despite her emotions swirling over her first World Cup event in her home state, Diggins wanted to keep the pressure down.
“If you get your priorities straight, it’s no different than being the last one to die,” the Afton native said. “The real victory was here.”
Although Diggins didn’t reach the top of the podium at Theodore Worth Park, she finished third in the women’s 10k freestyle on the final day of competition. Saturday’s sprint winner, Sweden’s Jonah Sandling, also won the interval start race in 22 minutes 38.9 seconds, with Sweden’s Frida Karlsson in second with 15.4 seconds behind. Diggins’ time of 23:10.7 thwarted the Swedish sweep and held off Lynn Svern by 3.2 seconds.
Gus Schumacher of the United States won the men’s 10k, becoming the first American to win a World Cup individual distance race since 1983. Schumacher, from Anchorage, Alaska, won in 20:52.7, followed by Norwegian Harald Østberg Amundsen in 20:57.1. and Paul Golberg (20:58.5).
Diggins finished fourth in the freestyle sprint on Saturday. The 10k is her signature race.
The World Cup cross country event, held in the United States for the first time since 2001, concluded with thousands of fans packing around the course on another Bluebird Day. In the men’s race, they had plenty to cheer for when Schumacher pulled off a big surprise.
This season has already been a milestone for the U.S. men, who have finished third in the World Cup twice. It was the first time since 1983 that two different men’s players reached the World Cup podium in the same season. Schumacher took that success to a whole new level. Since 1983, no American has won a World Cup distance race.
Schumacher was 8th at 1.9k. He moved into third place at the 3.3k mark and switched on late in the race. He credited his fans’ enthusiastic cheers for giving him energy, saying he couldn’t hear himself breathing.
After Schumacher crossed the finish line, he was guided to the finish line chair reserved for leaders. He said he had only been in that seat for 15 or 30 seconds in previous races. Because someone came faster than usual. Incredibly, this time he never left.
“I saw my time keep going up and I thought, ‘Oh my god, I just skated a really crazy race,'” he said. “I never could have imagined that something like this would happen today. I always try to do my best, but usually my best is not on the podium.
“I’m so thankful, grateful and happy to be here with my grandma and so many people I would never have gotten to see otherwise, to have the best race ever.” It really means a lot to me that I was able to do that.”
Schumacher was also mauled by his American teammate after the last skier who was able to catch up with him crossed the line late. Skiers from other countries joined in the celebration, and the crowd chanted “Gus! Gas! Gas!” and “America!” united states of america! ‘
After the award ceremony, many American athletes and officials gathered on the podium to take photos to commemorate their victory.
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