Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Jessie Diggins fell to the snow in agony, holding her injured ribs after winning bronze Thursday in cross-country skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Diggins, who bruised her ribs during a crash in Saturday's skiathlon, fought through pain to clock a 23:38.9 in the women's 10km freestyle. Her time was just 3.1 seconds behind second-place Ebba Andersson of Sweden, who clocked a 23.35.8. Fellow Swede Frida Karlsson won the event at 22:49.2.
Finland's Kerttu Niskanen and Krista Parmakoski, who earned silver and bronze in the event in 2022, placed 29th and 25th, respectively, on Thursday in Lago, Italy. Norwegian Therese Johaug, the defending champion, retired last year.
Diggins, who placed 8th in the event in 2022, earned the fourth Olympic medal of her career in Thursday's 10km freestyle. She won silver and bronze medals in 2022 and a gold in the team sprint in 2018.
She placed 8th in Saturday's 10km + 10km skiathlon, which Karlsson also won. Andersson also finished second in that event, ahead of Heidi Weng of Norway. Diggins was knocked out during the quarterfinals of the women's sprint classic. Sweden's Linn Svahn, Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist swept the podium in that event.
