Fans of Diggins show support

It was a thrilling finish. A three-way sprint to the line, a come-from-behind victory, drama galore over the closing meters.

But Jessie Diggins, the 22-year-old cross-country skier from Afton, wasn't part of the chase for a medal, much to the disappointment of a couple hundred of her closest friends, who came in from the cold at Chilkoot Cafe in Stillwater early Saturday to watch her anchor the U.S. women's 4x5-kilometer relay team.

A week of anticipation and a legitimate hope for a homegrown Olympic medal drew them in. But the hope of seeing Diggins as part of the medal ceremony ended with disappointment. By the time Diggins got going, the U.S. team was already out of contention, well behind the leaders. The Americans finished ninth.

Oh, well. Maybe next time.

And if the folks were treated to a wonderful final sprint as Sweden's Charlotte Kalla erased a 25-second deficit over the final leg to win at the end? A consolation prize.

"I'm disappointed a little bit in today," said Kris Hansen, the Stillwater girls' cross-country skiing coach. "But not overall. This is just a moment in time."

There was a real buzz of excitement in the jammed cafe, which was running two screens, as the race neared at 4 a.m. Several people were wearing pink T-shirts that read: "JDAW, Jessie Diggins Awareness Week."

As the race began, and the U.S. team's Kikkan Randall initially stayed with the lead group, the excitement swelled. But then Randall hit a wall, the U.S. team fell away, and the crowd grew quieter.

Ultimately, all the people who had come to watch Diggins barely saw her at all. The U.S. team was so far behind by the time she got going that she wasn't shown much on TV. The crowd didn't see Diggins battling, then overtaking an Italian skier. They didn't see when Diggins accidentally skied into the wrong lane after sprinting into the stadium, forcing her to turn around, losing time.

Still, as she worked her way to the finish line the crowd at the cafe cheered and clapped.

Moments after the race ended, the crowd posed for a cellphone photo that was then sent halfway across to the world to Diggins.

"It was a thrilling race," said Bill Simpson, a longtime Stillwater assistant coach who was manning the computer connection that streamed the race onto the screen Saturday. "And it was quite a shocker Norway wasn't on the podium. We were probably mostly disappointed we didn't have enough of [Diggins] on the TV."

"Four years ago yesterday she skied at the state meet for Stillwater, and we won the state title," Hansen said. "To have her, four years later, being the Olympics? It's pretty cool for my girls to see."

Perhaps four years from now Diggins' fans will gather again to watch her go for an Olympic medal.