Olympic champion suffers relapse in fight against treacherous disease

Status: 21.09.2023, 10:20 a.m.

By: Sascha More

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Cross-country skiing star Jessica Diggins is battling a serious illness and reporting a relapse. Nevertheless, she remains optimistic.

Saint Paul – Jessica Diggins has been one of the world's top cross-country skiers for several years. The American began her career in the World Cup in 2011 and has celebrated several successes in the last twelve years. Highlights of her career are certainly the 2018 Olympic victory in Pyeongchang in the team sprint and the world championship titles in 2013 in Val di Fiemme (team sprint) and 2023 in Planica (10 km freestyle).

Cross-country skiing star Diggins suffers from eating disorder

In addition to the three gold medals, the 32-year-old won numerous silver and bronze medals at major events. In the 2019/20 season, she also won the overall World Cup and can look back on a total of 16 World Cup victories in her long career. However, the American is not only fighting against her opponents on the track, but also against a treacherous illness from which she suffered as a teenager.

Jessica Diggins fell ill with bulimia a few years ago, but got the disease under control after therapy. Most recently, however, she suffered a relapse, as she now confirmed herself on her Instagram account.

Jessica Diggins is battling a treacherous disease. © Instagram/Jessica Diggins / Imago

"It's not easy for me, but I want to share it with you. After twelve really great years of health, I'm struggling with my eating disorder again this summer. I immediately asked for help. Thanks to my great care team, I feel much better now," the 32-year-old confirmed in a video.

Cross-country skiing star Diggins focuses on her recovery

"This is not a perfect story of my recovery, but it is real, raw and chaotic. And that's okay. The last thing I want to show the young athletes is that they have to be perfect to be successful, because that's not how real life works," the cross-country skiing star continued.

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Diggins identified stress as the cause of the relapse into the eating disorder. "It's about putting too much pressure on myself and feeling overwhelmed by all the projects I've taken on," she said. It is currently completely unclear whether she will start next winter: "My health and happiness are the ultimate goal, and that's what we're working towards." (smr