Minnesota Olympian Makes History this Week in Beijing

It's incredible seeing these Olympians perform at such a high level. But then to see them break records and make history is even more impressive! A Minnesota Olympian was one of the most recent to make history. Jessie Diggins became the first American to ever win a medal in this competition.

In case you aren't familiar with Jessie Diggins, she's a cross-country skier that grew up in Afton, Minnesota. She's been to the Olympics before and has now made history at both the 2018 Winter Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympics.

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On Tuesday, Jessie became the first American to ever win a medal in the cross-country freestyle sprint, according to USA Today. Bring Me the News says that the race is 1.5-kilometers (which is just under a mile) and Jessie did it in 3 minutes and 12.84 seconds to earn the bronze medal. She was just 0.28 seconds from the silver.

And if you think cross-country skiing a mile in 3 minutes is impressive, the New York Times describes the course as "furious" and "skis and poles flying from start to finish". The course is "built into the side of a hill that includes a lung-busting climb, a dicey descent and a final burst down the flat straightaway to the finish".

At the 2018 Winter Olympics Jessie and her teammate, Kikkan Randall won the first-ever US women’s gold medal in the cross-country team sprint, according to USA Today. Jessie will compete in the team sprint again this year with a different teammate though, this time it's Rosie Brennan. Let's see if she can snag another medal!