Jessie Diggins.Photo: Matthias Hangst/Getty
Diggins says that while her case of food poisoning was bad, it could have been a lot worse.
“I woke up the morning of the day before the race, not feeling very good … In the grand scheme of things I was lucky. I’ve definitely had more brutal cases of food poisoning in my life, so it could have been worse, but obviously, it could have been better,” says Diggins.
Diggins stayed hydrated, ate simple foods, and spent a lot of time in bed to recover swiftly. She says she felt compelled to continue on and compete in her last race.
“I just wanted to go and give it my very best effort and race with courage and race with heart and just see how it went without pressure, without putting expectations on myself. Without thinking about results or medals. During the race, I was so pleasantly surprised to see that my body really had bounced back quickly and I was feeling like myself and I just wanted to go for it,” says Diggins.
She continues, “So, it was incredibly painful and really hard and I had to dig deeper than I ever have in my entire life, but the feeling of empowerment and pride in crossing the finish line, having done something so difficult and so hard, that was amazing.”
Jessie Diggins.Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
The athlete is still taking in all the success she had with Team USA, days after the Winter Olympics concluded on Feb. 20. In addition to the silver medal, Diggins secured Team USA’s first-ever Olympic sprint medal in cross-country skiing. The athletewon the bronzein the women’s sprint on Feb. 8, coming in just behind Sweden’s Jonna Sundling.
“I will be honest, it’s still sinking in but it’s just been such an honor to be part of such an amazing and strong team and honestly feeling that big team unity, you know. It’s not just the cross-country ski team. It’s all of Team USA and that feeling of cheering each other on and watching each other succeed,” she says, reflecting on her achievements at the Olympics.
The Closing Ceremony at the Olympics was particularly special for Diggins. She waspresented with the silver medal and flowersfor the women’s 30km mass start free during the ceremony at Beijing’s National Stadium on Feb. 20.
“[Closing Ceremony] was incredibly special. It felt bigger than big, you know, like, the whole world is watching. It was so emotional and exciting to get up there and receive that medal for the hardest race that I’ve ever raced in my entire life,” says Diggins.
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For the star athlete, success is not all about medals. She says that over the years, even the races that she didn’t place in were well worth all the sacrifice and hard work. “I always try to bring it back to I would have been proud with or without the medals as a result. It was about that process of going as hard as I could and really just putting my heart into it,” she explains.
It’s fair to say that 2022 is Diggins' year, with more ahead for her to look forward to, including tying the knot with Poplawski at the end of May.
“We are wedding planning, which has been super, super fun and a wonderful thing to look forward to, especially through the stresses of life gearing up for the Olympics,” she says. “I’m really excited to, you know, get back together with my fiancé … and I really, really miss him and we love going and finding new places to camp or adventures.”
Before getting back to training, Higgins is going to take a much-deserved break to plan her wedding festivities.
“I want to take a little break and plan my bachelorette party … I have a little bit of balance with some normal life things. And it’s not just skiing all the time,” she tells PEOPLE.
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Paralympics, beginning March 4, on NBC.
source: people.com
