American skier Jake Adicoff has made history at the Winter Paralympics, becoming the first openly gay athlete to win an individual winter Paralympic gold medal — and capping off the achievement with an extraordinary four-gold clean sweep.
The 30-year-old from Sun Valley, Idaho, competed in the vision-impaired category and set an ambitious goal ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Games: to win gold in all four of his events. Remarkably, he delivered on that promise.
Adicoff claimed victory in the sprint visually impaired, 10km classical visually impaired, 20km freestyle visually impaired and the 4 x 2.5km mixed relay, completing a flawless campaign on the world stage.
“Four races, four gold medals, that was the goal. It was really hard but it was so rewarding to do it,” he said.
“That was my goal since four years ago, it’s been in my mind ever since then.
“It’s cool, I’m really proud of the work that I’ve done, the work that this team has done and all the support of my friends and family. I couldn’t be happier right now.”
Speaking to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, Adicoff admitted he felt a sense of relief after achieving what he had set out to do.
“It’s incredibly scary to put a high goal out to the public.
“I was doubting it so much this week, I didn’t know what was going to happen, but the races came together and I’m just overjoyed,” he said, adding that he was looking forward to celebrating with teammates and finally getting some rest.
The historic performance adds to an already decorated Paralympic career. Adicoff previously won gold and two silver medals at the Beijing 2022 Games, as well as a silver medal in PyeongChang in 2018.
Beyond his athletic success, Adicoff has been vocal about the importance of visibility in sport. Ahead of the Games, he told Outsports it was “super important” for him to represent the LGBTQ+ community at the highest level.
“We, as para athletes, have a very important role to showcase ability… I think that same thing is really necessary for queers in sports,” he said.
“There are high levels of attrition. The higher you get in sport, the less out people that you see… 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.”
Reflecting on his journey, Adicoff added: “Me at age 14 wouldn’t have imagined myself in either of these situations.
“If I can change that mindset for one other 14-year-old… then that’s a success.”
