Jessie Diggins Won an Olympic Medal & Her Fiancé Wade Poplawski's Heart — Inside Her Personal Life
Olympic skier Jessie Diggins now has three Olympic medals under her belt. Besides winning medals, Diggins won the heart of her fiancé, Wade Poplawski.
Jessie Diggins won a silver medal during the 30-kilometer Women's freestyle individual cross-country event at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, which is the best result an American has achieved in the event since 1976.
The skier faced brutal winds and a temperate of 14 degrees C (6.8 degrees F) during the 30-kilometer race. She was 1:43.3 behind the winner, Norwegian great Therese Johaug.
Jessie Diggins celebrating her medal at the Women's 30km Mass Start medal ceremony, 2022, Beijing [Left]. Diggins and her fiancé Wade Poplawski pictured together on Instagram, 2021 [Right]. | Photo: Getty Images & Instagram/jessiediggins
Diggins dropped to her knees at the end of the race and later told the media that all her energy went into the race, and although her legs were cramped during the last two laps, she could not give up.
Besides facing the winds and cold temperatures, Diggins experienced food poisoning, which had her laid in bed trying to force-feed herself to get better. The athlete shared wise words from her mother encouraged her to still participate in the race:
"I was talking to my parents and my mom said, "Don't decide how you feel right now. Just go out there and ski because you love to race." And she was right."
The silver medal is Diggins's second medal at this year's Olympic games, as she won a bronze for the Women's sprint: Cross-country skiing. She won her first medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics when she and Kikkan Randall won gold for the team sprint.
Diggins might have won three Olympic medals during her career, but she also won over the heart of her fiancé, Wade Poplawski. The couple met at a mutual friend's wedding.
Poplawski works as a financial analyst and lives in Massachusetts. He studied economics at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, and graduated in 2011. Before embarking on a career in finance, Poplawski was headed for a career as a hockey player.
He played collegiate hockey for three seasons before landing a deal with Rapid City Rush, the East Coast Hockey League affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. He was an NHL prospect but decided not to pursue a professional career.
The former hockey player has been by Diggins's side through her Olympic career and watched her compete in 2018. The couple even celebrated Valentine's Day together in the Olympic Village.
In 2020, Poplawski proposed to Diggins during a hike. She shared photos from the proposal on Instagram, including snaps of the happy couple smiling in their hike gear and Diggins showing off her gorgeous ring. The caption read:
"I haven’t stopped smiling!! ❤️💍"
Since the proposal, Diggins has shared a few looks into her wedding preparations. Shortly after getting engaged, Diggins revealed what she would be wearing during the reception, a gorgeous sparkly white romper.
It seems Diggins and Poplawski have not tied the knot yet because in August 2021, while celebrating Poplawski's birthday on Instagram, Diggins gushed that she could not wait to be his bride.