History in the making

Minnesota gold

Six native Minnesotans have won Olympic gold medals in the Winter or Summer Games for the United States in individual, two-person or relay sports:

Jessie Diggins (Afton), 2018

Women's team sprint, cross-country skiing

Rachel Bootsma (Eden Prairie), 2012

4x100-meter medley relay team, swimming

Lindsey Vonn (Burnsville), 2010

Women's downhill, Alpine skiing

Tom Malchow (Mendota Heights), 2000

Men's 200-meter butterfly, swimming

Robert Seguso (Minneapolis), 1988

Doubles tennis

Tracy Caulkins (Winona), 1984

Won three gold medals in swimming

No longer true

Two "nevers" died early Wednesday:

• An American woman had never won a medal in cross-country skiing.

• No American had ever won gold in cross-country skiing. The U.S. had won only one medal, a silver by Bill Koch in 1976.

Inside Team Sprints

It's a 9-kilometer race, with six legs at 1.25k each. With two-person teams, the racers alternate legs. For the U.S. early Wednesday, Kikkan Randall led off and Jessie Diggins closed it out. The former Stillwater state champ crossed the finish line in 15 minutes, 56.47 seconds, only 0.19 seconds ahead of Sweden's Stina Nilsson.

Super Mom

NBC said Randall, nine years older than Diggins at 35, is the only mother on Team USA. Randall, a five-time Olympian from Anchorage, Alaska, was a proud mom after the race. "It was this race in particular that really motivated me to go for one more Olympics, and really pushed me through this comeback after having my son," she told NBC's "Today" show Wednesday. "It's been so fun. This family on this team has been helping me raise Breck. It's just so cool. I hope it gives a lot of inspiration to all the moms out there that you can come back to being active and physical and stronger than you've ever been."

Diggins Day coming soon

Diggins' hometown of Afton is making big plans for her return. A date and details are still in the works, but the town plans to host a "Jessie Diggins Day" soon. "I'm not sure yet what it will all involve," said Ron Moorse, Afton's city administrator. "When she won the gold, I don't think anyone got any sleep."