Minnesotan Jessie Diggins announces upcoming retirement from ski racing
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The sparkles will shine for one final season as gold medal-winning Olympian and Minnesotan Jessie Diggins announced Wednesday she’ll retire from cross-country ski racing following the end of the 2025-26 season.
Diggins has won three Olympic medals, three World Cup titles and seven world championship medals in her career — most of which the 34-year-old won while competing with glitter on her cheeks.
She has said the glitter is a reminder to herself to find joy in the sport, and those sparkles have inspired young skiers in Minnesota and beyond.
“It’s going to be hard to step away from this sport and team that I love so much, but it also feels right in my heart, and I’m so excited to open a new chapter in my life,” Diggins wrote in her social media post.
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She is the first American cross-country skier to win Olympic gold, doing so alongside her teammate and childhood idol Kikkan Randall, at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. She was also the first American to win an individual World Championships gold medal in 2023.
In a press call on Thursday, Diggins said she’s ready to enjoy her last season, including racing in the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.
“I just want to be there, to be present and enjoy every single day and every single race experience,” Diggins said. “Even the training days when it's freezing cold and tough to get out the door, that's one of the last times I'll ever do that, and so I think it brings a deeper level of appreciation.”
While her athletic achievements have made headlines, Diggins has also worked tirelessly since she was 19 years old to advocate for mental health and climate change.
“I’ve tried to become the advocate and role model that 18-year-old Jessie needed,” Diggins said in an interview published by U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “Whether or not I’ve succeeded in that, I am deeply proud of having the courage to put my own life story out there to bring about the change I wanted to see.”
Diggins also partnered with The Emily Program to raise awareness about the prevalence of disordered eating in athletes.
Diggins’ season will end with a final competition at the Stifel Lake Placid Finals in Lake Placid, New York, in March.
In her press call, Diggins said she’ll keep busy after retiring. She plans to keep up her advocacy work and make more public speaking appearances. And while she’ll set down the skis, she said she’ll take on a new goal: running a 100-mile trail race.
After a long career of intensive ski training, she said she’s ready to take that slow.
“Training is going to be pretty chill,” she said.
After that, she said she’ll consider coaching skiers — but only after a break.
Her 16th and final professional season kicks off next week with a competition in Finland.
