United States

Jessie Diggins to Carry USA Flag at Closing Ceremony

Jessie Diggins and her teammate Kikkan Randall won America's first ever women's cross-country gold medal, and Team USA's first medal in the sport since 1976

After helping Team USA to win a historic gold medal in cross-country skiing, Jessie Diggins will bear the U.S. flag at the closing ceremony in Pyeongchang Sunday.

Fellow Team USA members voted for Diggins to represent them at the ceremony. Appearing on NBC's "Today" show Friday morning, Diggins said being the one to carry her country's flag is "absolute icing on the cake" to her 2018 Olympic run.

Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall are the first U.S. women to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing after their first-place finish Wednesday.

"Having them vote for me was ... I really don't know what to say except thank you so much," Diggins said. "It's been overwhelming in the very best way. It's really been a dream come true."

Diggins and her teammate Kikkan Randall won America's first ever women's cross-country gold medal, and Team USA's first medal in the sport since 1976. Diggins powered through her finish, besting Sweden to capture the Olympic title by 0.19 seconds. Video of the performance showed the announcers unable to contain their excitement over the upset.  

"I can't be more proud of my team," Diggins said on "Today." "The fact that we're able to bring this gold medal home together is an amazing experience."

Diggins also posted four top-six finishes in the 2018 Games.

Hear from U.S. medal winners Elana Meyers Taylor, Lauren Gibbs, Mikaela Shiffrin, Kikkan Randall, Jessie Diggins, Meghan Duggan and Jocelyne Lamoureux about the U.S. women’s success at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
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