Jessie Diggins does not consider this a title defense. However, on Wednesday afternoon, she gained the right to compete for gold in the women’s team sprint once more.
In the first of two semifinal classic races at the National Cross-Country Skiing Centre, Diggins and Rosie Brennan finished easily in the second position, 4 seconds behind Germany. Each semifinal’s top four teams advanced to the finals.
The final will take place at 3:15 a.m. Central time.
Diggins and Kikkan Randall won the team sprint at the 2018 Olympics, however, it was in the freestyle technique.
Due to the severely cold temperatures, the start time for Wednesday’s race was moved up by two hours. On Tuesday, organizers began the men’s biathlon relay two hours earlier than planned, fearing that shooters’ exposed trigger fingers might frostbite.
It was 4 degrees outside with a wind chill of minus-2 at the start of the semifinal. After dusk, the temperature was expected to drop to minus-9 degrees Celsius, with a wind chill of minus-11 degrees Celsius, which was extraordinary even by Olympic standards.
Since Diggins and Brennan thrive in cold weather, the arctic temperatures may not have had as big of an impact on them as they did on others. They also expected fast skis, thanks to a US service staff that had done an excellent job prepping equipment.
Because pre-Olympic test events in Zhangjiakou were postponed due to the outbreak, teams were unfamiliar with the venue’s snow conditions. The snow was predicted to be dirty because of the winter winds that blow in from the Gobi Desert, but it hasn’t been as gritty as expected, and participants have reported their skis have been fast throughout the Games.
Image Credit: Getty
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