It was easy to find Afton native Jessie Diggins on Saturday afternoon at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis.

You simply had to listen for the roar of the crowd.

A fan holds a photo of Jesse Diggins at the 2024 Loppet World Cup at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Whether she was walking to the start line, pushing the pace on the course, or sprinting at full speed toward the finish line, Diggins singlehandedly produced a crescendo everywhere she went.

“It was like this wall of noise,” Diggins said. “It was the loudest I have ever heard it on a course in my life.”

It’s safe to say Minnesota rose to the occasion with a World Cup race being hosted in the U.S. for the first time in more than 20 years.

The energy provided Diggins with a shot of adrenaline, and she ultimately took fourth place in the women’s freestyle sprint. After breezing through qualifiers with no issue, Diggins paced her heat in the quarterfinal and semifinal. She narrowly missed out on the podium in the final.

Asked if it was hard to dial herself back with the crowd so firmly in her corner, Diggins laughed, then admitted, “I definitely might’ve made myself a little tired for the final.”

In the end, Diggins finished behind Jonna Sundling of Sweden in first place, Linn Svahn of Sweden in second place, and Kristine Stavås Skistad of Norway in third place. Not that it was going to stop her from taking a victory lap in her home state. Though the tradition is usually reserved for podium finishers, Diggins was allowed to take a twirl with her competitors.

“I’m really psyched they let us go,” Diggins said. “Just getting to share that with the crowd was so cool.”

This is something Diggins has been waiting for ever since she started cross country skiing. She has competed abroad in Europe for most of her life with a dream of bringing the World Cup to her home state.The emotions gobsmacked her as soon as she stepped onto course with her being moved to tears more than a half dozen times.

“That’s all part of it,” Diggins said. “Sometimes people say I should shut it out and focus on what I’m doing. I’ve taken the opposite approach. I’m just soaking it all in because this is so cool.”

It was an electric environment from start to finish as thousands of fans lined every inch of the course before racing even began.

Jessie Diggins climbs a hill during the qualifying race at the 2024 Loppet World Cup at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

“That was surreal,” Diggins said. “It was already probably the best atmosphere we’ve had this season, and it was an hour before qualifiers. That’s unheard of. Then people just kept pouring in.”

For an encore, Diggins will compete in the women’s freestyle 10-kilometer on Sunday afternoon at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis. As much as she’s looking forward to competing again, she won’t soon forget how special this particular moment was for her.

“This totally blew me away,” Diggins said. “This was the coolest day of my career.”

Briefly

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway won the men’s freestyle sprint, with Federico Pellegrino of Italy, and Haavard Solaas Taugboel of Norway rounding out the podium.

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