A two-time Olympian, Jessie Diggins is the most decorated U.S. cross-country athlete in World Championship history: she is the first American woman to win the World Cup Distance title and the World Cup Overall Champion title, and she has earned thirty-five medals in World Cup competitions. In 2021, she became the first American to win the prestigious Tour de Ski. Todd Smith is author of Hockey Strong. His sportswriting has contributed to Minnesota Hockey, USA Hockey, and the Minnesota Wild on the NHL Network. His work has been published in The Rake Magazine, Minnesota Monthly, and Twin Cities METRO Magazine, and he has been a commentator on Minnesota Public Radio’s 89.3 The Current and WCCO Radio.
Contents
Prologue: I Can Do It Myself
1. Snow Baby
2. Wild Child
3. Super Speed
4. Thunder Bay
5. The Stillwater Way
6. Pain Cave
7. The Great Balancing Act
8. To Ski or Not to Ski
9. Slow Spiral
10. The Emily Program
11. Never Alone
12. Blood, Sweat, and Tears
13. The National Team
14. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
15. Because 96 Isn’t 100
16. From Sochi, with Love
17. Give It All You Got
18. Know When to Fold ’Em
19. PyeongChang
20. Brave Hearts
21. Let’s Go Get It
22. One Team
23. Here Be Dragons
24. Coming Home; or, The Week I Masqueraded As a Rock Star
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
