'I felt so much love': Diggins savours emotional farewell at the top

The last race of the 2025/26 Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup season – a 20km Mass Start Free in Lake Placid, USA – marked the end of something much bigger. Home hero Jessie Diggins’ (USA) career was over.

The Minnesota skier, with her characteristic glitter on her cheeks, fought back the tears as the large, noisy crowd saw their Cross-Country superstar line up for the final race of her career.

Two days before, the 2018 Olympic Team Sprint champion had secured her fourth Overall Crystal Globe with a fifth place at the in Lake Placid 10km Interval Start Classic.

"It was so beautiful and so emotional," Diggins said.

"I look back at pictures and I'm literally smiling in my last race. I'm just having the time of my life.

That she fell with half a lap to go, finishing 12th, did not make any difference. The 22 March was a day to celebrate arguably the greatest USA Cross-Country skier of all time.

In her last season as a professional skier, the 34-year-old had also claimed her fourth Distance Crystal Globe, won Tour de Ski for the third time and added a fourth medal to her Olympic tally; a 10km Freestyle bronze from Milano Cortina 2026.

"I felt so much love and I felt so grateful," Diggins said.

"It was such a cool way to end my career, finally getting to race in the US again. It was only the second weekend in my entire career that I ever got to race in my own country, which is wild.

Some athletes quit their careers when they realise they cannot keep winning anymore. Diggins has no regrets bowing out from the sport at the very top.

"Honestly, I feel very lucky," she said.

"I've worked incredibly hard, but lots of people work really hard. Lots of people deserve it. It's not about deserving. I recognize how lucky I am to get to retire on my own terms."

Injuries eventually take their toll on some athletes, who physically cannot continue competing at the highest level. Diggins is pleased to have stayed healthy until the end, thanking her team for being a constant feature on the Cross-Country circuit for most of the past decade and a half.

"In many cases, injury pulls you out of the sport. You don't get to choose when you're done. The fact that my body was in a good place and I was healthy and happy and loving it and finding success and being able to inspire all these kids – I just feel really lucky," Diggins said.

The 2020/21, 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 Overall World Cup champion had announced her retirement just before the season was about to start. That way, her campaign towards her final title doubled as a farewell tour, as Diggins got to enjoy her favourite World Cup stops one last time, fans from all over the world sharing their appreciation for one of the sport's all-time giants.

"The biggest thing was that I felt so much love and gratitude. Every single place that I went, I got to thank the volunteers one last time. I got to say thank you to the hotels and the fans," Diggins said. 

"One of the coolest things about the season was that I felt like the whole world was in on it with me. I felt that kind of energy in all of these countries and all of these places. It was so beautiful and joyful.

"I'm really glad that I shared that I was going to retire at the start of the year. I brought everyone in with me, and that's always been my way. I've been very vulnerable, very open."

Competing in Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Sweden and the United States, tributes poured in from far beyond those wearing stars and stripes, on and off the Cross-Country courses.

"The Nordic community around the whole world is amazing," Diggins said.

"The people who do this sport are hardworking and humble and kind. But I was surprised to see how many different people I had touched in different ways. That was very humbling.

Diggins joined the exclusive group of Marit Bjoergen (NOR), Bente Skari (NOR) and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) on four tour titles, with only Yelena Vaelbe (RUS), who won five, ahead of her. But ending her career at the top of the Overall World Cup rankings did not leave her with a sense of frustration, as one more season could have put her on par with all-time Crystal Globe great Vaelbe.

"If the thing that got me going was about winning, then it would probably be really hard. Then I would probably go, 'one more year, one more year'," Diggins said.

"But there's always one more year. There's always a World Championship next year, then another championship, then another Olympics. You can always look for one more thing.

Diggins mentions public speaking, trail running, climate change and mental health awareness as some of many things she wants to spend her time with now.

"In the end, it's easy to walk away when you feel in your soul like the time is right," she said.

"I knew the time was right. I wanted to end the sport on totally joyful terms and I wanted it to still be fun. I wanted my body to feel good and be injury-free and healthy.

"I would rather end at my top than wait too long. I didn't want to go off a cliff."

As Diggins bows out with three consecutive Overall Crystal Globes to her name, and four in the past six seasons, the Cross-Country world will be eager to know who will replace her on the throne. Diggins sees it as an open game. 

Apart from her three victories – the Trondheim (NOR) 20km Skiathlon, the Toblach (ITA) 5km Heat Mass Start and the 20km Classic Pursuit – a dozen other women claimed race wins this season. Moa Ilar (SWE), Maja Dahlqvist (SWE), Jonna Sundling (SWE) and Heidi Weng (NOR) completed the top five in the Overall standings, in that order.

"It's going to be exciting. There are definitely people who could do far more than I ever did, but it's hard to predict. The athletes in second and third place have changed over the last few years, and someone could suddenly have an amazing season," Diggins said.

"If Moa Ilar has another season like this one, she can win it. A lot also depends on how much people choose to race, because winning the overall World Cup means being in a bib a lot, collecting points consistently.

Click here to see full results from the 2025/2026 season, here for the Women's Overall World Cup Standings and here to follow FIS Cross-Country on Youtube.