Oksana Masters and Jake Adicoff golden, Sydney Peterson claims silver in the cross-country sprint at Milano Cortina 2026

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by USOPC

PREDAZZO, Italy – Team USA delivered another electrifying day on the trails at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, highlighted by Oksana Masters (Louisville, Kentucky) taking home her second gold medal in Italy, Jake Adicoff (Sun Valley, Idaho) winning his first long-awaited individual gold, and Sydney Peterson (Lake Elmo, Minnesota) securing the silver medal in the cross-country sprint at Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium.


Leading the charge once again was Masters, who powered her way to gold in the women’s sitting cross-country sprint. Cruising through the qualifying round and semifinals, Masters crossed the finish line in 3:07.1, three seconds faster than the second-place finisher and claiming gold in the event for the first time since 2018. The victory marks Masters’ second gold medal of Milano Cortina 2026 and the 21st Paralympic medal of her career, including 11 golds – further extending her legacy as the most decorated U.S. winter Paralympian in history.


“It is a dream come true – I counted myself out today,” said Masters. “Yesterday’s individual biathlon shook my confidence a little bit, but when I lined up at the start line, I was so hungry and wanted redemption. It’s been eight years since I won the cross-country sprint gold – this is just surreal.”


In the men’s visually impaired cross-country sprint, Adicoff and guide Peter Wolter (Hailey, Idaho) delivered a breakthrough performance, capturing the first long-awaited individual Paralympic gold of his career after crossing the finish line in a time of 2:44.7. The win marks Adicoff’s second career Paralympic gold medal and the fifth medal overall for the veteran skier.


“I wanted this gold eight years ago in PyeongChang and missed it again in Beijing – it’s just good to finally get that milestone,” said Adicoff. “Sometimes you just have to turn your brain off – I knew that we were forming a gap and knew that we needed to make it bigger. The perfect run happened when it needed to happen.”


Adding to the medal haul, Peterson raced to silver in the women’s standing cross-country sprint after finishing in a time of 3:35.5. The podium finish brings Peterson’s Paralympic career medal total to four and continues a strong showing for Team USA’s cross-country squad in Milano Cortina. Peterson raced alongside teammate Dani Aravich (Boise, Idaho), who finished in sixth place.


“It’s super exciting to get the silver in the classic sprint – I’ve worked a lot on my classic skiing over the years so it’s really fun,” said Peterson. “This one ranks pretty high. Each time you get up to the start line at the Games, there’s just that much more pressure. I’m pretty stoked about it.”


A total of 12 U.S. athletes competed in today’s events. Athletes who advanced to the semifinals include Jack Berry (Missoula, Montana), Aaron Pike (Park Rapids, Minnesota) and Nicole Zaino (Brookfield, Connecticut), while Dan Cnossen (Topeka, Kansas), Michael Kneeland (Bozeman, Montana), Erin Martin (Seattle, Washington), Max Nelson (Grant, Minnesota) and Josh Sweeney (Glendale, Arizona) all had strong showings.

Follow and watch U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing competition from Milano Cortina 2026 on NBCUniversal, which will showcase more than 270 hours of total programming across NBC, Peacock, USA Network, CNBC, and NBC Sports Digital platforms, along with a record number of primetime hours on NBC. Follow U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing on Instagram, Facebook and X for daily updates from Milano Cortina.


For photo and media requests, please contact Olivia Truby at Olivia.Truby@usopc.org.

Team USA Results

Oksana Masters, gold, women’s sitting cross-country sprint

Jake Adicoff and guide Peter Wolter, gold, men’s visually impaired cross-country sprint

Sydney Peterson, silver, women’s standing cross-country sprint

Dani Aravich, sixth, women’s standing cross-country sprint

Nicole Zaino, fourth in semifinal 2, women’s sitting cross-country sprint

Aaron Pike, fifth in semifinal 1, men’s sitting cross-country sprint

Jack Berry, fifth in semifinal 2, men’s standing cross-country sprint

Max Nelson, 14th, men’s visually impaired cross-country sprint

Erin Martin, 14th, women’s sitting cross-country sprint

Josh Sweeney, 14th, men’s sitting cross-country sprint

Dan Cnossen, 15th, men’s sitting cross-country sprint

Michael Kneeland, 32nd, men’s sitting cross-country sprint