MINNEAPOLIS — This weekend, Minneapolis will host the first World Cup cross-country ski race on U.S. soil in more than 20 years.
Snowy weather has finally arrived, but the volatile and unpredictable winter is not only an inconvenience, but also an existential threat to the sport itself.
As a result, some sports leaders are calling for action to protect not just the environment, but the sport itself.
That's what Olympic gold medalist Jesse Diggins said when he encouraged the world's top athletes to descend on Minneapolis for the World Cup races. warm winter It wasn't the scene she had in mind. But thankfully, it snowed in the nick of time.
Still, the warm winters in Minnesota are a sign of climate change and a threat to the sport that made the Afton native famous.
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“Skiers are like canaries in the coal mine. We actually see it firsthand and experience it firsthand because it's our life and it's our job,” Diggins explained. did.
As she watched winter soften before her eyes, she decided to work with Protect Our Winters, a nonprofit focused on bipartisan solutions to strengthen climate action.
“Over the last eight years, there's been a big change to the landscape where you're not just racing on real snow most of the time,” she said.
After scoring his fifth World Cup win of the season, Diggins thanked his wax technicians for their “ridiculously fast skis.”
They did it without the very thing that has been used for decades to help athletes run faster. Waxes known as “fluorine” are known as “permanent chemicals.” PFAS Among them.
Researchers have found that harmful waxes remain in the snow and dissolve into groundwater. This is the first year that toxic waxes have been banned from World Cup races, a sign that the sport is serious about managing the environment it relies on.
Diggins said it takes one to two minutes longer to complete a 12-mile race, but it's most useful when conditions are rough and wet.
To enforce the ban, skis will be inspected before the race. This is similar to how athletes are tested for performance-enhancing drugs.
Loppet Nordic Race Team's Chris Harvey coaches some of America's best young skiers
This will be their third season to be PFAS-free.
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“This is really good because it helps level the field, so teams don't have to spend as much money on expensive wax,” Harvey says.
“When I retire, I want to look back and think I did everything I could with the time I had and the platform I had,” Diggins said. “But I’m going to try to make a difference.”
Diggins enters this World Cup with the most wins in a single season. She is the most decorated skier in U.S. history.
She told WCCO that she was very excited that her entire family would be able to watch her race. This is unusual considering she is usually overseas for these types of races.
