Global Warming Is Hurting My Sport: Olympic Gold Medalist

AFTON, MN — Before she could walk, Olympic gold medalist Jessie Diggins' parents put her in a baby carrier so she could join them on their weekend ski trips in Minnesota. Even as she grew into her toddler years, her parents continued this tradition.

"Mush!" she would yell in her dad's ear. "Go super speed!" That's how Diggins — an Olympic athlete who holds the United States record for most world championship medals in cross-country skiing — fell in love with the snow.

But now Diggins, 26, worries if future generations of kids will miss that opportunity. She's seen the harmful impact of global warming on her sport; it's becoming hard to find trails to ski on and even harder to find trails with real snow.

• Jessie Diggins Cross-Country Ski Schedule, Results: 2018 Olympics

Diggins said people are losing their jobs because of shortening winters and ski seasons.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources confirms temperatures are rising in Minnesota, especially in the winter. "Climate changes are impacting Minnesota's wildlife, plants, waters, historic resources, infrastructure, and available outdoor recreation activities," the agency reports.

Diggins is among a growing number of winter athletes becoming advocates for climate action.

"Growing up, I didn’t play video games. I didn’t watch TV. I went and played in the snow," Diggins told the New York Times. "I don’t want my kids to grow up in a world where they’ve never experienced snow because we weren’t responsible enough."

Without enough real snow, courses are drastically increasing the use of man-made snow for trails, which can have dangerous consequences for skiers.

Diggins says real snow is softer; man-made snow gets icy. "One of my teammates broke his leg on a corner of a course where it never should have been as fast as it was," she told the Times.

Read Jessie Diggins' full interview with the New York Times.

Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images