By Rachel Blount

Star Tribune

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Three times at the Pyeongchang Olympics, Jessie Diggins had made U.S. cross-country skiing history. But the Afton, Minn., native had not won the big prize she sought — until Wednesday, when she and Kikkan Randall became the first American women to earn an Olympic medal in the sport.

Diggins and Randall captured gold in the women’s team sprint at Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Center. The medal was only the second ever won by a U.S. cross-country skier at the Winter Games. The Americans had gone empty-handed since Bill Koch’s silver in 1976.

A phenomenal sprint to the finish by Diggins brought home the gold in 15 minutes, 56.47 seconds, 0.19 of a second ahead of Sweden. Norway was third.

The race paired Diggins, who has won more world championship medals than any U.S. cross-country skier in history, with Randall, the veteran whose success made the Americans contenders after years of futility. The two previously teamed up to win the 2013 world championship in the team sprint.

The race was the fifth of these Olympics for Diggins, 26. She finished fifth in the skiathlon, the 10-kilometer sprint and the 4x5k relay. Those were the highest Olympic finishes ever recorded by an American woman. She also was sixth in the classic sprint.

Diggins, 26, and Randall, 35, qualified with the fastest time of the semifinals. They won the Group B heat in 16 minutes, 22.56 seconds, 0.72 of a second ahead of Sweden. That heat produced the top four semifinal times.