Mikaela Shiffrin reacts to Jessie Diggins winning Overall cross-country World Cup 2023-24

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin recently shared an appreciation note for Jessie Diggins after the latter became the 2023-24 Overall Crystal and Distance Globe champion.

Diggins bagged her second World Cup overall title on Sunday to become the most successful cross-country ski racer in the country. Diggins managed to hold on to her lead against Swede Linn Svahn in the final race of the tournament that started in November.

Diggins had already taken the lead with 340 points over Svahn in the first week of February. However, she was left with a margin of just 75 points before her final race on Sunday. The 32-year-old ensured a smooth run on the final day with a top-20 finish in the 20km freestyle.

Shiffrin, who herself created history recently after her 97th World Cup win, shared a story for Diggins on her Instagram handle with the caption:

"Jessiiiiieeeee!!! Omg"

Both Diggins and Shiffrin share an amicable bond and have shown immense respect for each other's contributions. Diggins defended the Colorado native after her fall at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. On the other hand, Shiffrin has applauded the 32-year-old numerous times in the past and was one of the first to congratulate Diggins after her historic feat.

Mikaela Shiffrin concludes the season with her 97th World Cup win

Mikaela Shiffrin clinched her 97th World Cup win in the women's World Cup slalom final on Saturday. The season was full of dominance for the Colorado native as she was pretty focused on achieving her goals.

Even after facing a huge setback earlier in the season, Shiffrin made a strong comeback. She faced a devastating crash in Italy when she was skiing downhill and had to go for a six-week rehab program before coming back for the World Cup in Sweden on March 9.

With this win, she registered her name among the greats of the discipline. She took to social media to thank her team for constantly supporting her throughout the season.

"Soakin’ this moment in with my team…this has been a season full of emotions and successes and challenges and patience and trust. And I’m so thankful for their support and guidance through it all."

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Across her decade-long career, Mikaela Shiffrin has established herself as one of the greatest alpine ski racers. She is tied with Ted Ligety and Andrea Mead Lawrence for having the most number of Olympic gold medals and is also the only athlete to have won the World Cup in all six disciplines namely slalom, parallel slalom, downhill, super-g, alpine and giant slalom.

Edited by Luke Koshi