Salomon Nordic skiing athletes Jessie Diggins (cross-country) and Lisa Vittozzi (biathlon) have a flair for the dramatic. With the overall crystal globe titles on the line entering the final weekend of the season on their respective World Cup circuits, Diggins (USA) and Vittozzi (Italy) embraced the moment and became overall World Cup champions.
This is the first time Salomon Nordic athletes have won two crystal globes in the same season. In addition to the two overall crystal globes by Diggins and Vittozzi, Salomon’s Nordic team won five more crystal globes across multiple disciplines.
My only goal was to go out there and have the most fun, and I really did. If I’m first, if I’m last, it doesn’t matter, if I give it everything I have, then I’m going to be proud of what I put out there!
Jessie Diggins
Cross-country skiers
HISTORICAL SEASON FOR SALOMON ATHLETES: 2 OVERALL TITLES, 5 INDIVIDUAL TITLES AND 136 PODIUMS
Diggins locked up the overall title in style, winning the final race of the season, the 20 km mass start in Falun, Sweden on Sunday. The 32-year-old , who has used Salomon skis and boots for her entire Word Cup career, called her 2023-24 season a surprising one. Still, she was a model of consistency, skiing her way onto the podium 11 times, winning six of those races. She also won the brutal Tour de Ski in January. An outspoken advocate for mental health and eating disorders, Diggins shared prior to the season that her eating disorder had resurfaced after 12 years of recovery. Her goal was to show up each week with a smile on her glittery face and leave it all on the track. She did just that…right to the end.
“It has been a hard year, and my only goal was to go out there and have the most fun, and I really did,” Diggins said of her mindset entering the final weekend of the season. “I just wanted to leave it all out there because I know that when I do that, I can walk away proud. If I’m first, if I’m last, it doesn’t matter, if I give it everything I have, then I’m going to be proud of what I put out there.”
For Diggins, a second overall crystal globe (she also won in 2021) adds to a list of career accomplishments that undoubtedly make her the greatest Nordic skier in US history. Watch a behind-the-scenes video recapping Jessie Diggins’ winning Sunday in Falun.
For Vittozzi, the overall Biathlon title was the first of her career. She was close in 2019, when she finished 2nd, and 3rd overall last season. On, Saturday, she picked up a huge win in the 10 km Pursuit in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, and it was a clutch 19-for-20 performance on the shooting range that was the difference. That win earned her the World Cup Pursuit overall title for the season and propelled her into the yellow bib worn by the overall leader heading into Sunday’s final race of the season. She finished 21st in that 12.5 km Mass Start on Sunday, enough to secure the overall crystal globe.
Vittozzi had five individual wins on the season and skied onto the podium in 10 individual races.
“It’s a dream; it’s unbelievable,” Vittozzi said following the season finale on Sunday. “I’m too emotional and I’m really proud. I was in the same situation four or five years ago and did not have a perfect race. Today, I had also did not have a perfect race but enough to win. Yesterday, the pressure was worse, and I did a good job. So today, I tried to repeat the same race and could not, but I am happy anyway.”
In addition to the two overall crystal globes by Diggins and Vittozzi for their season-long titles, Salomon athletes won five crystal globes in various disciplines.
- In Cross-Country, Diggins won the Cross-Country Distance title.
- In Biathlon, Vittozzi won the Pursuit and Individual title, and Ingrid Tandrevold won the Sprint title.
- Also in Biathlon, Salomon athlete Elvira Öberg won the U25 Total Score for the season. It was the third consecutive year that the Swede has won that crown.
Overall, the Salomon Nordic team once again had its most successful season ever, earning 136 podiums for the season. That was nine more podiums than last season and made Salomon the No. 2 winningest ski brand across the Cross-Country and Biathlon World Cup circuits. Additionally, Salomon Biathletes won 24 medals (including 10 golds) at the Biathlon World Championships.
