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Show D-4 Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, February 24-27, 2018 Worth t U.S. women earn country’s first-ever STEVE ASSOCIAT She blew by Nilsson in a blur to capture gold in the team sprint, bringing the United States its first gold medal ever in cross-country skiing. As she crossed the line she collapsed in exhaustion as teammate Kikkan Randall tackled her in the snow. Randall lay on top of a crying Diggins shaking her ski jacket in pure excitement and utter joy. “That feeling of being able to cross the line and have Kikkan tackle me was the coolest thing ever,” Diggins said. PHOTO BY SARAH BRUNSON/U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD It was fitting Randall was her partner on the two-woman team. She has been through all of the tough times, competing with the American cross-country ski team since the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. She said it was also fitting that the American women won their first medal in a team event. “I got to see in 2013 when we won the world championships ... that team gold is worth far more than any individual accolade,” the 35-year-old Randall said. “What really kept me going over the last four years was trying to contribute toward a team medal. To do it with Jessie one more time is just amazing.” So move over Bill Koch, you have company — finally. Koch was the only other American to win a medal in cross-country, taking home silver at the 1976 Innsbruck Games. Diggins and Randall ended that 42-year drought and surely gave a huge boost to all of the young cross-country skiers back home in the United States. “Hearing it out loud, it still doesn’t feel Jessica Diggins shows her emotion after winning a gold medal in the cross-country team sprint at the Pyeongchang Games. A s she headed up the steepest, most grueling hill of her life in third place, Jessica Diggins thought to herself just winning an Olympic medal was no longer good enough. She wanted more. She wanted gold. Diggins dug deep, remembering all the years of training she had put in, and of all her teammates waiting for her at the finish line to bring home the United States’ first medal ever in women’s cross-country skiing — and then she let loose. Diggins reached the peak of the hill in third place but sped past Norway’s Maik- en Caspersen Falla on the last big, winding downhill. She rounded the final corner and took dead aim at Sweden’s Stina Nilsson on the final 100-meter homestretch. The crowd in the grandstand was on its feet sensing history, and at that moment Diggins said she felt “unstoppable.” “Around that final corner I felt like I was uncoiling a spring and letting it go,” Diggins said. “Giving it everything I had, digging as deep as I could and putting it all out there. When your team is counting on you, you don’t give up ever.” Diggins certainly didn’t give up. WHEN ONLY THE BEST WILL DO Jessica Diggins, left, and Kikkan Randall are all smiles after winning the U.S.’s first cross-country go “DR. DINGMAN IS THE BEST.” - TED LIGETY TWO-TIME OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST Visit our office to receive a commemorative Winter Games pin! Call us at RMT for special financing options on all New Holland equipment CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT TODAY! Model Shown: Boomer™ Compact 24HP B. John Dingman DMD 4343 N. Hwy 224 Suite 201 Park City www.canyondentistry.com • 435.658.4746 RMT EQUIPMENT 801-261-2100 4225 SOUTH 500 WEST SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84123 |