It is time to give Jessie Diggins her flowers, but she will probably say thanks and share them with everybody else in her sport. Diggins is the Michael Jordan of United States cross-country skiing—the best ever—but in some ways, she is Jordan’s antithesis. She could begin every post-win press conference by saying, “I did not take that personally.”
Fellow cross country skier Gus Schumacher calls Diggins “an anti-competition competitor.” Diggins says that sometimes before a race, “I look around, and I’m like, ‘I like her … I like her … she’s super cool … she’s worked super hard … she’s overcome an amazing injury—what a story!’ ” Why would she want to beat such lovely people?
