Jake Adicoff Wins Four Gold Medals And Makes History At The 2026 Winter Paralympics
American cross-country skier Jake Adicoff did exactly what he said he would. At the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Paralympic Games in Italy, the 30-year-old from Sun Valley, Idaho, claimed four gold medals across four races, becoming the first openly gay man to win an individual gold medal at any Winter Paralympics.
A goal four years in the making
Adicoff competes in the vision-impaired category. He was born without sight in his right eye and with limited vision in his left after contracting chickenpox in utero. He started Alpine skiing at age five before switching to cross-country, and has now competed at four Paralympic Games.
His gold run at Milano Cortina opened on 10 March, when he won the 1.5km sprint visually impaired event by 1.5 seconds over China’s Shuang Yu, with guide Peter Wolter. The next day, he took gold in the 10km interval start classic, finishing 1 minute and 48 seconds ahead of Finland’s Inkki Inola, this time with guide Reid Goble.
He then anchored the US team to victory in the 4 x 2.5km mixed relay on 15 March, and closed out with gold in the 20km freestyle on the final day of competition. After crossing the finish line of his second gold, he took a bow. The crowd loved it.
Adicoff was one of five openly gay athletes representing the United States at Milano Cortina. He was not out during his previous Paralympic appearances, earning silver in PyeongChang in 2018 and two silvers along with a relay gold in Beijing in 2022.
Speaking to OutSports ahead of the Games, he was direct about what his presence was meant to signal: “The higher you get in sport, the less out people that you see, and I think 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.”
He also cited out Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy as an inspiration, and said he hopes to do the same for the next generation. His Instagram bio, flanked by rainbow Pride flag emojis, says it all: “Just trying to be fit enough that your dad notices me.”
The celebration that said it all
After the relay win, teammate Oksana Masters tackled him to the ground mid-celebration. “It was initially a hug, and then she kind of put all her weight into it, and then all of a sudden I was on the ground,” Adicoff told the Associated Press. “She goes crazy, she’s got a lot of passion.”
On completing his four-gold sweep, he kept it simple. “Four races, four gold medals, that was the goal. It was really hard but it was so rewarding to do it. That was my goal since four years ago, it’s been in my mind ever since then.”
We love that for him.
