Americans Jessie Diggins and Julia Kern won a medal in cross-country skiing’s team sprint for a second consecutive world championships, taking silver following their bronze two years ago.
Diggins, now a seven-time world medalist, and Kern, now a two-time medalist, finished 2.9 seconds behind gold medalist Sweden in Trondheim, Norway. Switzerland earned bronze.
Diggins and Kern were third behind Sweden and Norway at the last worlds in 2023, when the team sprint was held in the freestyle skiing format.
“We both love team events, because you’re not just fighting for yourself, but for each other and for our whole team and our staff that have put so much hard work into the skis today,” Kern said.
In the team sprint, each nation’s two skiers alternate covering one lap at a time for a total of six laps (three per skier).
Diggins went first for the Americans, so Kern anchored for the last lap. It was the same order as in 2023 for two athletes who have trained together for a decade and often been roommates traveling the World Cup circuit.
This year’s team sprint was in the classic style, which is traditionally weaker for Americans.
Events alternate between freestyle and classic at every worlds and Olympics, so the team sprint will switch back to freestyle at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.
The last time the team sprint was freestyle at an Olympics was in 2018, when Diggins and Kikkan Randall became the first Americans to win cross-country skiing gold.
On Wednesday, Diggins and Kern gave the U.S. its second-ever world podium in a classic event since the two separate classic and freestyle disciplines were established in the 1980s.
The first came in 2017 when Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen won classic team sprint bronze.
Earlier at these worlds, Diggins placed 23rd in the individual sprint (freestyle) and 13th in the skiathlon (10km each of classic and freestyle).
Diggins, the top skier on the World Cup the last two seasons, cited difficulties with her ski setup after those races. She then sat out Tuesday’s 10km classic.
“I had to keep believing, I knew my fitness was there, I knew my body was there, you just need everything to come together at a championship and I think it makes it even sweeter that it did come together on a team day,” Diggins said, according to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation. “It was a big test of faith and belief.”
Diggins made it clear that nobody was upset with the U.S. ski wax technicians.
“I believe in the tech team, and nobody’s mad at anyone ever, because nobody works harder; they’re out there 12 hours,” she told Faster Skier. “They’re putting everything they have into it, and sometimes it goes great, and sometimes we miss it. I’ve had races where they gave me amazing skis, and I blow it up, you know? That’s part of the game.”
The final races of worlds are the men’s and women’s relays Thursday and Friday, then the 50km freestyle mass starts on Saturday (men) and Sunday (women).
Catch me if you can, made in Sweden.
— FIS Cross-Country (@FISCrossCountry) March 5, 2025
Without a doubt, Team Sweden confirms its status as the top women’s sprint nation with a Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist masterclass 🇸🇪🥇#fiscrosscountry #wintersports #trondheim2025 #wsc pic.twitter.com/rBv88Sw978
