After all the rumbling about Scandinavian domination at the World Nordic Ski Championships going on in Slovenia, Norwegian athletes and fans were genuinely delighted to see American skier Jessica Diggins cross the finish line first in the 10-kilometer race on Tuesday. “Awesome!” wrote newspaper Aftenposten, using the often over-used American expression.
It was the first individual gold medal ever won by an American cross-country skier, making it both historic and providing a welcome diversion from all the Swedish and Norwegian victories at this year’s World Championships. “It was important for international langrenn (cross-country skiing) and competition itself,” wrote Aftenposten, claiming that it otherwise has been “a monotonous championships with empty grandstands and grey skies.”
Diggins livened things up with her “popular victory,” added the paper, “that creates a bit more balance after many predictable days with Swedish women and Norwegian men on the winners’ platforms. It was refreshing, and liberating.”
NewsinEnglish.no staff
