SportsOlympics

Actions

American cross-country skiers capture gold in women's team sprint

Posted
and last updated

American skiers Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins made history Wednesday by winning Olympic gold in women's team sprint in cross country skiing.

SPECIAL SECTION: Full Olympic coverage

The Americans defeated runner-up Sweden by .19 seconds. 

Norway won bronze.

The victory meant Team USA ended their 42-year Olympic medal drought in cross-country skiing.  NBC Olympics reports that Diggins and Randall are the first American women to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing.

Before their win on Wednesday, Bill Koch was the only American cross-country skier to earn an Olympic medal. Koch won silver in the men's 30km in 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria.