Olympic cross country skiing champion Diggins gets 30th World Cup victory

TRONDHEIM, Norway (AP) — Olympic cross country skiing champion Jessie Diggins of the United States earned her 30th World Cup victory by winning a 20-kilometer skiathlon on Saturday.

The 34-year-old Diggins has won three Olympic medals, including the first cross country Olympic gold medal for the United States with teammate Kikkan Randall in 2018. She is planning to retire at the end of the 2025-26 season.

The Minnesota native started her final season last week in Ruka, Finland.

She’ll compete in the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in February and end her career at the Stifel Lake Placid Finals in Lake Placid, New York, from March 19-22.

Diggins first made the national team in 2011. She won her first individual World Cup race in 2016. Her upcoming Olympic trip will be her fourth.

Diggins has won three FIS crystal globes and has seven world championship medals.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

United States' Jessie Diggins, center, winner of a women's cross-country 20km Skiathlon Classic/Free celebrates with second-placed Norway's Heidi Weng, left, and third-placed Sweden's Ebba Andersson during the Cross-Country skiing World Cup, in Trondheim, Norway, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Geir Olsen/NTB Scanpix via AP)

United States' Jessie Diggins competes in a women's cross-country 20km Skiathlon Classic/Free during the Cross-Country skiing World Cup races in Trondheim, Norway, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Geir Olsen/NTB Scanpix via AP)

United States' Jessie Diggins crosses the finish line to win a women's cross-country 20km Skiathlon Classic/Free during the Cross-Country skiing World Cup races in Trondheim, Norway, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Geir Olsen/NTB Scanpix via AP)

United States' Jessie Diggins celebrates winning a women's cross-country 20km Skiathlon Classic/Free during the Cross-Country skiing World Cup races in Trondheim, Norway, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Geir Olsen/NTB Scanpix via AP)

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona has a massive 6-2 lead to protect against Real Madrid when it hosts the second leg of their Women’s Champions League quarterfinal on Thursday.

The Catalan club is in a commanding position to make a record-extending eighth straight semifinal while Madrid would need an unprecedented quarterfinal turnaround to reach the last four for the first time.

Three-time champion Barcelona seeks to reclaim the title it lost to Arsenal last season. Barcelona topped the league phase with an unbeaten campaign that included 20 goals scored and three against.

Madrid, in its second consecutive quarterfinal, was eliminated by Arsenal last season. It finished seventh in the league phase.

Thursday’s game will mark Barcelona’s return to Camp Nou for the first time since the stadium partially reopened in November amid ongoing renovations.

“I’m incredibly excited, very motivated, and eager to prepare for the match and train at the Camp Nou beforehand,” Barcelona coach Pere Romeu said. “It will be a wonderful day to be able to manage a match in that beautiful stadium.”

Barcelona has beaten Madrid five times in all competitions this season.

The winner will play Bayern Munich.

In the night's other quarterfinal, Wolfsburg takes a 1-0 lead against OL Lyonnes to Lyon. The German side hopes to become the third club to eliminate the French record eight-time champion in 17 quarterfinals.

Defending champion Arsenal awaits the winner.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Arsenal's Alessia Russo, left, and Chelsea's Ellie Carpenter battle for the ball during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal in London, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)