how did jessie diggins hurt her ribs

Jessie Diggins hurt her ribs when she crashed during the women’s 20-kilometer skiathlon at the 2026 Winter Olympics, and the impact from that fall left her with badly bruised ribs rather than a fracture.

What actually happened

• During the women’s 20 km skiathlon (her first race of these Olympics), Diggins fell on the course in tough, slushy conditions that caused several skiers to go down.

• In that crash, she landed hard enough on her torso to bruise her ribs, which she later said made it painful and harder to breathe while racing.

• She explained in an interview and on social media that the ribs were bruised but not fractured or sprained, which is why she was cleared to keep skiing.

In her own words, she said that when she fell in the skiathlon she “bruised some ribs” and was surprised by how much it hurt to ski afterward.

How it affected her races

• The rib injury came in that opening skiathlon, where she still finished eighth despite the fall.

• She then raced the classic sprint with the same bruised ribs and said double poling was especially painful because of the strain on her upper body.

• Even with the injury, she went on to win a bronze medal in the 10 km freestyle later in the Games, gutting through the pain and collapsing in obvious discomfort at the finish.

Quick recap

• Cause of injury: Fall/crash in the women’s 20 km skiathlon.

• Nature of injury: Bruised ribs (no lasting or structural damage reported).

• Ongoing impact: Painful breathing and poling but she continued to compete, including winning an Olympic bronze.

Information gathered from public news outlets and reporting available on the internet and portrayed here.