Afton native Jessie Diggins made herself very clear heading into this weekend. She wasn’t putting any pressure on herself to win a race. She had already won by finally getting the World Cup to Minnesota.

Still, for Diggins, a podium finish at the Loppet Cup was the cherry on top of an unforgettable experience. She took third place in the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle on Sunday at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis. She jumped for joy as her name bellowed over the loud speakers.

“I just wanted to go out there and leave it all on the course, and I definitely did,” Diggins said. “There was nothing left in the tank.”

Her signature full body collapse as she crossed the finish line proved as much. Asked about her strategy throughout the competition, Diggins noted that with the way things were going, there was no chance to conserve her energy. She knew she had to send it from the start line and hope she had enough at the end.

“I hoped the crowd would carry me back to the finish line,” Diggins said. “They did.”

It was the least they could do for Diggins, a folk hero in cross country skiing, who did everything in her power to bring the World Cup to her home state.

The reception was incredible this weekend with a wall of noise following Diggins everywhere she went on the course.

The loudest cheer of all came as Diggins barreled into the home stretch. She was running on adrenaline at that point. She ultimately crossed the finish line with a time of 23 minutes, 10.7 seconds, slotting in behind Jonna Sundling of Sweden and Frida Karlsson of Sweden, respectively, while narrowly outpacing Linn Svahn of Sweden.

“That was so hard,” Diggins said. “That’s my style of racing. I wanted to leave it all out there. That was my only goal.”

That’s exactly what Diggins did this weekend both physically and emotionally. She gave every bit of herself to her home state for the better part of 48 hours. She cried more than a half dozen times on Saturday and openly sobbed on Sunday as her teammate Gus Schumacher made history by winning the men’s 10-kilometer freestyle.

“I couldn’t possibly be more proud of him,” Diggins said. “That was so cool.”

It’s safe to say Minnesota couldn’t possibly be more proud of Diggins after this weekend.

“This is something that I’ve been working towards for a very long time,” Diggins said. “I’ve had to help fight to make this a reality. I’ve never been more proud of anything.”

Though she has no plans of retiring anytime soon, Diggins noted that whenever she does, she can now feel good about everything she has accomplished.

“This weekend has been my dream come true,” Diggins said. “It barely feels real.”

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