TESERO, Italy — Team USA closed out the Para cross-country skiing program at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games on Sunday with two gold medals and one bronze medal in the 20-kilometer interval start, the final race of the schedule.

Sydney Peterson captured the women’s standing title and Jake Adicoff secured gold in the men’s visually impaired race. Oksana Masters added a bronze medal in the women’s sitting event, helping cap another successful Paralympic campaign for the U.S. team.

Athletes faced wet conditions early in the morning, with rain, sleet and snow falling at the start of the races before clearing later in the day. Sitting competitors completed seven laps of a 2,852-meter course, while standing and visually impaired athletes raced five laps on a 4,000-meter loop featuring tight hairpin turns, short climbs and fast descents that demanded careful pacing across the full 20 kilometers.

Women’s Sitting

Fifteen athletes lined up for the women’s sitting race, including three Americans: Nicole Zaino, Kendall Gretsch and Oksana Masters.

Early in the race Masters established a strong rhythm and moved into the lead before the halfway point. Her consistent push and steady pacing kept her near the front as the race developed.

South Korea’s Kim Yunji and Germany’s Anja Wicker gradually closed the gap during the middle laps. With the leaders separated by only seconds entering the later stages, the race came down to endurance over the final kilometers.

Kim claimed the gold medal, followed by Wicker in silver. Masters crossed the finish line third to secure the bronze medal after holding off the chasing pack over the final laps. Gretsch finished just outside the podium in fourth place, while Zaino placed 12th in her Paralympic debut.

Masters described the race as one of the most demanding of the week.

“I had to dig super deep, especially for the 20K, knowing the course was not going to favor my style of racing,” Masters said. “I’m pretty proud of myself for just never giving up.”

The bronze medal brought Masters’ career Paralympic total to 24 medals across multiple sports, continuing one of the most decorated careers in the history of the Paralympic movement.

Men’s Sitting

Thirty-two athletes started the men’s sitting race, with Joshua Sweeney and Daniel Cnossen representing Team USA.

The course was crowded early with both men’s and women’s competitors sharing sections of the track, leading to frequent passing as athletes worked through the seven-lap race.

At the front, Russia’s Ivan Golubko controlled the race and claimed the gold medal. China’s Zhongwu Mao finished second for silver, while Italy’s Giuseppe Romele secured the bronze.

Sweeney finished 13th for Team USA after maintaining steady pacing across the full distance. Cnossen placed 17th in the field. Aaron Pike did not start the race.

Women’s Standing

The women’s standing race featured 17 competitors and included Danielle Aravich and Sydney Peterson for the United States.

Peterson entered the race already among the most successful athletes of the Games and quickly showed strong form. At the early time check she had already opened a lead and continued to build the advantage through each lap.

As the race unfolded, Norway’s Vilde Nilsen and Ukraine’s Oleksandra Kononova battled for the remaining podium positions.

Peterson crossed the finish line more than a minute clear of the field to secure the gold medal, adding to her growing medal haul at Milano Cortina.

“I’m in shock. I just felt good racing and tried to pace a good race,” Peterson said.

The victory marked Peterson’s third gold medal of the Games to go along with a silver, capping a breakout Paralympic performance for the 24-year-old American.

Aravich finished seventh in the race.

Men’s Standing

The United States did not have an athlete competing in the men’s standing race.

China swept the podium with Chenyang Wang winning gold, Lingxin Huang taking silver and Xiaobin Liu claiming bronze.

Women’s Visually Impaired

The United States did not have an entry in the women’s visually impaired race.

Russia’s Anastasiia Bagiiann, skiing with guide Sergei Siniakin, won the gold medal. Simona Bubenickova of Czechia, guided by David Srutek, secured the silver medal, while China’s Wang Yue and guide Chen Guoming finished third to take bronze.

Men’s Visually Impaired

The final race of the Para cross-country program featured 18 starters in the men’s visually impaired event, including Americans Max Nelson and Jake Adicoff.

Adicoff, skiing with guide Peter Wolter, entered the race unbeaten in cross-country events at Milano Cortina and started last among the competitors.

Despite two falls during the race, Adicoff maintained the fastest pace on the course and built a lead of nearly a minute before the halfway point. The Ukrainian challengers closed the gap late, with the silver medal decided in a final sprint to the finish.

Adicoff held on to win the gold medal by just over seven seconds.

“I feel good. I’m happy that it worked out,” Adicoff said after the race. “It’s incredibly scary to put a high goal out to the public, but the races came together and I’m overjoyed.”

The victory secured Adicoff’s fourth gold medal in cross-country skiing at Milano Cortina, completing a perfect run across the four cross-country events of the Games.

With the 20-kilometer races complete, the Para Nordic skiing program closed in Tesero after a week of competition that included biathlon, sprint races, team relays and distance events across all classifications.