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When Norway and Sweden contest Olympic cross-country races, their crown prince and king routinely attend.

So far, no one has heard of an American president coming to watch such a spectacle. But US skier Kikkan Randall had a dream just after Barack Obama was inaugurated that she was riding on Air Force One, telling him how great her sport was 鈥� and he promised to help raise its profile in America.

That鈥檚 just how Randall is. She dreams big. While Obama didn鈥檛 quite manage to do that for her, she did it on her own. And Wednesday night, another one of Randall鈥檚 dreams came true: She and teammate Jessie Diggins won the first-ever Olympic medal for US women鈥檚 cross-country skiing 鈥� and the first for the country since Bill Koch鈥檚 silver in 1976.

In the team sprint event on Wednesday, it came down to Norway, Sweden, and 鈥� the United States. Coming around the final bend, Diggins was trailing Sweden and had to swing wide on the outside. It came down to a photo finish.

鈥淲hen Jessie crossed the line, I looked over to the scoreboard and I saw United States No. 1 and I just let out a big scream and ran over and tackled Jessie,鈥� recalled Randall at a press conference afterward. 鈥淎nd she said, 鈥極h my gosh, did we just win the Olympics?鈥� and I said 鈥榊eah!鈥� 鈥�

It鈥檚 a medal more than a decade in the making, the fruit of a team culture that has raised every team member鈥檚 level of skiing. But it鈥檚 also especially sweet that it鈥檚 shared by Randall 鈥� the catalyst for America鈥檚 unprecedented success in women's cross-country skiing 鈥撀燼nd Diggins, who as a junior racer stood in line to get her autograph.

鈥淜ikkan kind of started all this 鈥� there was a long time when she was the only woman we had on the team, she was out there by herself, with a bunch of guys running around Europe,鈥� says Luke Bodensteiner, chief of sport for US Ski and Snowboard, who broke down in tears at the finish line. 鈥淪he was the one early on who took all these girls 鈥� but in particular Jessie 鈥� under her wing and showed her the ropes and provided some leadership. So for them to team up like that is just kind of a Cinderella story.鈥�

A team medal

Diggins kept Randall鈥檚 autograph for years 鈥� a little piece of cardboard box that she had torn off for Randall to sign, since there were no more posters left.

But slowly, Diggins pulled even with Randall. And then, when her erstwhile hero took a year off to have a baby in 2016, Diggins really came into her own and became the strongest US skier on the team.

So when it came down to a three-way sprint for the win tonight, the US team knew it was possible for her to pull through. No one digs deep like Diggins.

When she crossed the line, all the coaches鈥� radios went silent. What do you say when you鈥檝e just won your team鈥檚 first gold medal? Besides, they were too busy being congratulated by other teams 鈥� the Swedes, the Norwegians, and big hugs from the Russians. 聽

鈥淲e are very, very happy for Kikkan and Jessie 鈥� they are so worth this gold medal,鈥� said Swedish skier Charlotte Kalla, who had won a gold and two silvers already in these Games before taking silver Wednesday night with teammate Stina Nilsson.

Meanwhile, in the finish area, the other women on the US team were also at a loss for words. Tonight they spoke in the language of tears 鈥� happy tears, but hard-won ones.

鈥淲e talked a lot about if we won a medal at the Olympics, it was going to be a team medal 鈥� whether you were on the snow that day or not 鈥� because everybody had worked together and pushed each other and believed in this,鈥� said Randall, her cheeks painted with the letters USA and red, white, and blue stars. 鈥淚t was really hard to select the team today. The coolest moment was when our team was right there in the finish.鈥�

A culture of Yes We Can

Four years ago, Randall came into Sochi as the gold medal favorite in the individual sprint 鈥撀燼nd failed to advance out of the quarterfinals by .05 seconds.

鈥淚 remember Kikkan having to walk out of the [media] mix zone after her quarter with tears in her eyes,鈥� recalls Sophie Caldwell, who was in her first season with the team and surprised many by qualifying for the sprint final herself. 鈥淩ight before my final, she came up 鈥� and gave me a little pep talk, which I just couldn鈥檛 believe. Of course, she was bummed, but you could tell she was happy for me. I just couldn鈥檛 believe how lucky I was to have a teammate like that.鈥�

Indeed, since the first moments after that disappointment in Sochi, Randall had turned her focus toward preparing herself and her teammates to excel in the team events 鈥撀爓ith these Olympics in mind.

鈥淚t was disappointing to not make that medal happen in Sochi,鈥� said Randall. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 probably been a blessing in disguise because it鈥檚 made us work harder over the last four years and it makes today even more special. It鈥檚 an amazing transformation.鈥�

And Diggins has played a key part in that transformation.

鈥淔or me it feels like 鈥� a privilege to help change the culture of [US] skiing to Yes We Can,鈥� she said.

So in a way, Obama was here after all.