This article was first published in November 2024.
By Gavin Kentch
There was an election in this country last week. You may have noticed. Many people felt strongly about the result.
Many American skiers had feelings about the outcome as well. Last Wednesday, once the race had been called for Trump, Jessie Diggins posted the following to her Instagram stories:
Rosie Brennan posted this:
And Sophia Laukli posted this (the text reads, “the tried & true treadmill always there to murder some feelings”):
The same day, American skier Lauren Jortberg, formerly affiliated with SMS and now with Centre National d’Entraînement Pierre Harvey in Québec (the move predated the election), presently training in Davos, posted the following workout on Strava:
While Thursday morning for Jortberg brought:
Jortberg’s comment about “cognitive dissonance” crystallized the issue for me: How do athletes feel about racing internationally, for Team USA, in a suit emblazoned with “USA” on it, and does this change when global and/or personal reaction to the public face of their country’s leadership changes?
So I asked several athletes what it is like for them when they race internationally in a USA suit, and how that dynamic may change depending on who occupies the Oval Office, and/or global views of the U.S. generally. Everyone who responded had lengthy comments, which I have set forth in full below. This really is an “in their own words” piece; I have no other narration to append.
Michael Earnhart
“I am proud to be an American regardless of who is running the country.
“I know many people who voted for Trump and I would consider them to be upstanding and charitable people.
“I have noticed absolutely no difference in how we are treated as Americans abroad in my last six years of traveling. In my experience we are judged based off our character, not our elected officials.
“I hate this idea of distancing ourselves from over 73 million fellow citizens, I believe this only takes us backwards. I believe if we want to make progress we cannot be alienating our neighbors, and instead must lead by example and show we care about those next to us more than someone across the country.”
Rosie Brennan
“Interesting question! I think one of the only times I’ve seen questions be asked about U.S. politics in the mixed zone was the first time Trump was elected. I think Europeans were as surprised as many Americans so there were lots of questions about it. I will be curious to see if that happens again or if it’s less of a surprise this time and therefore won’t be brought up in the ski arena. I am always shocked at how much coverage is given to U.S. politics abroad, but it seems to be largely left out of sports, something I think I agree with.
“Also, the U.S. is not the only country grappling with a move towards the far right right now and while I may agree or disagree with the direction of my country and other countries we compete against and travel in, I have never treated the athletes from those countries differently and I hope for the same in return.
“Personally, I am disappointed at the outcome of the election, not just the presidency, but also some of the local outcomes as well. That said, I know I have teammates, supporters, and fans who don’t feel the same as me and to me, that is one of the very important parts of sport. It’s something we can find common ground with people that are different from us and unite and cheer for things like resilience, hard work, belief, and being American.
“I am proud to represent the USA abroad. I don’t feel I am representing a single person, but the ideals of our country: equality; democracy; and fundamental rights like liberty, free speech, religious freedom, and due process. By racing my best and living by and treating others with those ideals, I believe I am representing our country in a positive light globally and that is something I take seriously. Without respect and curiosity, there is no path forward.”
Luke Jager
“Man our country is going through a pretty strange and crazy time! But I do still believe that it is filled with people who are fundamentally good.
“I obviously don’t want to minimize the effects of any ideologies and policies that are dangerous and damaging and the importance to push back against them. I just think that if we are serious about helping the people who need it the most and creating the country we want, understanding and empathy are the most powerful tools that we have to reach those we disagree with in order to find solutions that help people.
“So I see representing the U.S. as an opportunity to try our best to embody the stuff we want to see the most, and in that way it is a huge honor. Change starts small and we can all make an impact in our close relationships and our communities that ripple up onto the biggest stages.
“I get that I’m just a white dude whose entire life is built around ski racing so it may be hard to take the whole ‘everyone should just get along’ perspective very seriously when it comes to such big issues, but I think any of us who have ever been in an argument know that yelling louder doesn’t usually help to get your point across more effectively. If we are serious about helping vulnerable people and making our country work better for everyone, we need to be willing to listen and meet people where they are at and to advocate in ways that make people open to changing their minds and not just ways that make it feel like our side is winning.”
Jessie Diggins
“Thank you for the really thoughtful question about racing in the U.S. suit this winter, and, well, I guess every winter, but specifically in the wake of a very emotional election.
“I think it’s not a secret that I voted for Kamala Harris, and that’s pretty obvious based on all of my work with Protect Our Winters and my general views. But I think for me, the way I look at it this winter is that the silver lining of racing in a country where there is no government funding for sport is that I’m not racing for the government.
“So yes, I have ‘USA’ written on my suit, but I am not obligated to represent any political views at all when I race.
“And for me, when I go out there and race, I’m racing for our wax techs who work incredibly hard and I’m racing for our coaches and support staff who pour everything into this. I’m racing for my family and my friends, and I’m racing for every single person who went out there to Minneapolis and was out there cheering on the side of the course, for all the little kids who get up early and watch the ski races, and for all the ski fans who just want something to inspire them and want a reason to get psyched and get up early to watch ski racing on a weekend.
“So that’s who I’m racing for. I am not racing to represent the government.”
“And for me, it’s important to say that my values are that racism and sexism and homophobia are not okay. Those things are not things that I believe are okay to perpetuate, and that’s not what I represent or what I race for.”
You’re reading this on Nordic Insights, one man’s labor of love dedicated to publicizing American nordic skiing. Last season’s GoFundMe is literally the only reason why I turned a profit in year one of Nordic Insights, and in turn the only reason why there is a year two of Nordic Insights for you to be reading now: I was okay with working for very little money to get this love letter to American cross-country skiing off the ground, but I didn’t want to lose money for the privilege of doing so. If you would like to support what remains a brutally shoestring operation, last season’s GoFundMe may be found here. Thank you for your consideration, and, especially, for reading.
Jessie nailed this one