Gold Medalist Jesse Diggins Lobbies For World Cup Ski Event In Minn.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- Minnesota's Olympic cross country ski champion Jessie Diggins is back home for the first time since she won the gold medal.

Diggins was at the State Capitol to support a bid by the state to bring the Nordic World Ski Championship to Wirth Park in 2020. She learned to cross country ski in Afton and says the World Cup ski event would be a huge boost for the sport in Minnesota.

"I want them to have the chance to see the World Cup in person," she said at a news conference Thursday. "I want them to be able to be inspired. I want them to see where all that hard work is going to take them, because sport is such an important thing, not just for the sake of trying to win gold medals, but for life.

Diggins was honored by the Minnesota House, where she showed off her gold medal.