Gus Schumacher became the youngest American to win a World Cup cross-country ski race and the first American man to do so in 10 years at the Stifel Loppet Cup in Minneapolis on Sunday.
Schumacher, 23, had recorded his best World Cup finish of fourth place before his breakthrough victory at the first World Cup in 23 years.
At the interval start at the 10km mark, he jumped into the lead with an 8.6 second lead over the Norwegians who were still in the lead.
No one could beat his time. World Cup leader Harald Ostberg Amundsen came closest, but was still 4.4 seconds behind.
“It's unbelievable,” Schumacher said. “We hope this is the first of many.
“Today was the best day ever.”
Schumacher joins Simi Hamilton, who won a Tour de Ski stage in 2013, and Bill Koch, the only American male to win an Olympic cross-country medal and five-time World Cup winner. He became the third American male player to win the Cup. 1980s.
Noah Hoffman also set the fastest time in the chase in 2013, but finished 9th overall in the race.
Schumacher broke the record for youngest American to win a World Cup, held by fellow Alaskan Kikan Randall.
In 2020, Schumacher became the first American cross-country skier to win an individual junior world title. He made his Olympic debut in 2022 and finished 39th and 48th individually.
Also on Sunday, Jessie Diggins placed third in the women's 10k, extending her American record and earning her 11th individual race podium of the season.
Afton's hometown of Diggins, 25 miles east of Minneapolis, finished 31.8 seconds behind Swedish winner Jonah Sandling, who also won Saturday's sprint.
“I cried a lot because this is so special,” Diggins, who finished fourth in Saturday's sprint, said of her home World Cup. “The whole country was involved and it took the cooperation of so many people to make this happen. It was pretty emotional to be with so many of my teammates. They should have done that during their careers. But they couldn't do that and they're still here. They're still part of it.”
Diggins has been working toward a World Cup berth in his home state since teaming up with Randall at the 2018 Olympics.
The Minneapolis World Cup was first added in March 2020, but was canceled five days before the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Diggins leads the overall World Cup standings by 257 points and is likely to win his second overall World Cup title when the season ends next month.
In 2021, Diggins became the first non-European woman to win the overall title.
