Team USA skier Jake Adicoff made history at the 2026 Milano Cortina Paralympic Games after winning the gold in the 1.5km cross-country sprint.
Not only was that his first individual Paralympics gold medal, the victory made him the first out gay male Paralympian ever to win gold as individual.
Guided by Peter Wolter, Adicoff delivered a strong victory in the Tesero Cross Country Stadium on Tuesday over his closest rival, China’s Shuang Yu.
Adicoff is completely blind in one eye and has significantly reduced field of vision in the other. His vision impairment is a result of his mother contracting chicken pox during her pregnancy.
To compensate and gain a complete view of the racecourse while navigating at high speeds, the 30-year-old uses a side-to-side head motion to piece together his surroundings while Wolter acts as Adicoff’s “eyes” on the course. The two teamed up as para-skier and guide in the fall of 2024.
Now a four-time Paralympian, Adicoff scored his first gold medal as part of the U.S. mixed relay team at the Beijing 2022 Games.
Adicoff is looking for a relay repeat on Saturday, and will compete in the 20km race on Sunday. He’d already won silver medals in the 10km and 20km races at previous Paralympic Games.
The 30-year-old scored his second individual gold today in the 10km cross-country race guided by Reid Goble.
Prior to these Games, Adicoff told Outsports, “Going to the Paralympics, being a gay athlete there, showing that it’s possible to reach this upper echelon of sport as an out athlete and as a para athlete, that’s super important to me.”
Adicoff is one of five out LGBTQ athletes competing at the 2026 Paralympic games, including wheelchair curler Jo Butterfield, snowboarder Jackie Hamwey, and alpine skiers Michael “Mikey” O’Hearn and Hailey Griffin.
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