Yahoo News These Women Just Made Olympic History
Kikkan Randall and Jessica Diggins took home gold for USA in the women's team sprint freestyle race on Wednesday. According to the New York Times, the cross-country skiers therefore ended one of the longest medal droughts in U.S. Olympic history.
The last person to medal at all for Team USA was Bill Koch, who took home silver at the 1976 Games. Additionally, this victory is the very first time U.S. women have ever medaled in the sport. The sport is typically dominated by Scandanavian countries, TIME notes. The Swedish and Norwegian teams finished behind them, in second and third place respectively.
Washington Post reporter Adam Kilgore explained Randall - who is also the only mom on Team USA and a five-time Olympian - made history on her own by competing in 18 (!) events before ever medaling.
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“Hearing it out loud, it still doesn’t feel real,” Randall told the Times after her victory. “It’s what I’ve been working on for 20 years and with this team for the last five years and, wow, it’s just so fun to put it together tonight, finally.” She also notes the first words out of Diggins's mouth when they finished were “Oh my gosh did we just win the Olympics?”
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Diggins agreed: “It feels unreal; I can’t believe it just happened."
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