Jessie Diggins leads group of cross-country Olympians from New England

Stratton, Vt. resident Jessie Diggins poses for a portrait with the Tour de Ski trophy. (Getty Images)

The 2022 Winter Olympics begin Friday in Beijing, with dozens of New Englanders hoping to grab gold in their respective sports.

Here’s a look at five skiers with New England ties on the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team who will be competing in cross-country events, as well as their Instagram handles in order to follow their journeys on social media.

Twenty-one-year-old Sophia Laukli, from Yarmouth, Maine  placed second at the 2020 NCAA Championships in the 5k freestyle. She made her World Cup debut in Lahti, Finland in the 15k skiathlon last year. — @sophialaukli

Caitlin Patterson, 32, born in Idaho, raised in Craftsbury, Vt., and a 2012 graduate of the University of Vermont, is headed to her second Olympics at Beijing. In PyeongChang, she finished 26th in the 30K mass start classic, and 34th  in the 7.5/7.5K skiathlon. Her brother, Scott, 30, is on the men’s cross-country Olympic team. — @caitlinmpatterson

Jessie Diggins entered the 2021-22 season as the defending overall World Cup champion. She is the first American woman to ever don the title. She also won the Word Cup distance title last season, as well as the Tour de Ski. During this Olympic season, she is the American face of cross-country skiing, at the forefront of a success the country has never seen in the sport. In 2018, she helped the United States win its first Olympics gold medal in cross-country skiing. — @jessiediggins

Golden girl Diggins is ready for more of the Olympic-sized spotlight

Julia Kern, from Waltham, Mass., has Dartmouth and Stratton Mountain School on her resume. She placed second in the U.S. championships in 2016 and scored her first World Cup podium in 2019. — @juliakernski

Ben Ogden, of Landgrove, Vt., studies mechanical engineering at the University of Vermont. He was a member of the Stratton Mountain School Elite Team, and the 21-year-old is heading to his first Olympics. His sister, Katharine, also skis cross-country for the U.S. Ski Team.  @ben.0gden

Eric Wilbur can be reached at [email protected].