Out Paralympic champ Jake Adicoff ‘still in disbelief’ after 4 gold medals
Jake Adicoff completed his '4 in 4' goal at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, the first out gay man to win gold in the Winter Paralympics. The post Out Paralympic champ Jake Adicoff ‘still in disbelief’ after 4 gold medals appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
Out gay para cross-country skier Jake Adicoff put the pressure on himself ahead of the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games, laying out his goal in a direct, declarative tone: he wanted to win four gold medals in the four events in which he was set to compete.
And he did it.
The four-time Paralympian brought home gold medals in the Men’s Sprint, 10km Classical, 20km Freestyle and Mixed 4×2.5km Relay, securing his first individual Paralympic gold medal ever and becoming the first out gay man to win individual gold in Winter Paralympics history in the process.
Adicoff’s “4 in 4” goal and his path to fulfilling it made him one of the most high profile athletes over the course of the Milano Cortina Games, even having his visage become one of the de facto faces of the 2026 Games for American viewers on Peacock and seeing his Instagram follower count double.
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But the five-time Paralympic gold medalist is taking the attention and significance of his accomplishment with gratefulness and pride that extends beyond himself..
“I feel really happy with what I was able to do there and really grateful for all of the help I had doing it,” Adicoff told Outsports weeks removed from his triumph in Italy. “It’s such a big team and so many friends and family that all contributed to that success. I’m really grateful for all the work that’s been done so that I could try and go and do that hard thing.”
Adicoff pointed to having his friends and family in attendance and the camaraderie engendered amongst him and his Team USA teammates as points of motivation and comfort amid his quest, but reserved special praise for his guides, Reid Goble and Peter Wolter.
“I give them a huge amount of credit, both for the work that they did on-course and also the fun, joyful moments that we had off-course that kept me calm throughout that week,” Adicoff said. “That was one of the most stressful weeks of racing in my life, and without some good allies and good people to hang out with, it would have been way, way worse. That’s where I credit them the most.
“We have serious conversations when we need to, but I would say 90% or more of the words we say to each other are garbage, meaningless, going for the laugh. That’s what I wanted.”
That first win also delivered the historic first individual gold for an out gay athlete at the Paralympics, an accolade that Adicoff wasn’t even away he earned until seeing media coverage of it.
“I was very surprised that that milestone hadn’t been achieved yet and that it had taken this long, but I was really happy with that. It was fun,” he said. “I didn’t have a blueprint for being gay, blind and in sports and now maybe there is a blueprint for someone or some semblance of a path, which I think is pretty cool.”
Combatting the stress level was key from the very beginning as Adicoff’s narrow win in the Men’s Sprint, the first leg of his “4 in 4” goal, was viewed as the hardest race for him both by analysts and Adicoff himself.
“It was the one I was most nervous about,” Adicoff recalled. “The goal could’ve fallen apart. It still would have been a really fun week and quite successful, but winning four gold medals has to start with the first one. There were a lot of moments during that day where I was really doubting my ability to win that race, but I did a good job of shutting that down.”
Adicoff rode that confidence to a dominant win in the 10km the very next day and a blistering final leg of the Mixed 4×2.5km Relay later that week where he made up a 44-second deficit to win the race by 12.5 seconds and be tackled in celebration by legendary American Paralympian and relay teammate Oksana Masters after crossing the finish line.
“I love winning a relay because her excitement at the finish is unmatched,” Adicoff chuckled. “She is a legend. We weren’t able to watch much of the other races, but we’d hear on coach radios that Oksana won, Kendall [Gretsch] won or took second or third. Those moments fire you up and get you so excited for your turn to go and give what you have.”
Oddly enough, the 20km event, which Adicoff thought would be the easiest event to win based on his comfort in long-distance races and wide margins of victory in previous 20km races, proved far more dramatic than anticipated.
A few falls, silver medalist Oleksandr Kazik skiing the race of his life and fatigue accumulated from his previous races made the final leg of Adicoff’s “4 in 4” goal more of a nailbiter than anyone expected.
“Early on in that race, it became fairly evident that it was going to be one of the hardest,” Adicoff said. “We got splits at one point that we up by 40 seconds at one point, but didn’t take into account that Kazik was fully blind and had a lot more race left. Things got a little tight in the finish.
“Peter and I crossed the line and I confirmed with him that we got the win. He said, ‘Yeah,’ but it wasn’t until Kazik pulled up to the finish and we checked the times that we knew,” he continued. “It was a seven-second spread. That was too close for comfort and it felt a little crazy to me, but it was quite a way to end, knowing that I had to work really hard and fight for that final gold that I thought would be the easiest. I’m psyched he put up a good fight. It made it more fun.”
That tight finish gave way to celebration for Adicoff and his circle, including dinner and quality time with his friends, family and teammates before hitting the town for drinks and dancing into the wee hours of the night, feeling a mix of joy and relief with what he accomplished.
“After the 20km, there was one very memorable deep breath that I took that I won’t forget for a while,” Adicoff said with a smile. “The only thing I’ve been able to think afterward is, ‘I can’t believe that worked.’ Sometimes things come together. There was so much luck and help required, and it all worked out. I’m still in disbelief.”
Adicoff is back stateside now, though he still hasn’t gotten much time to relax as he continues travelling to watch events and cheer on his friends, but, as his Instagram bio highlights, Adicoff has been getting some attention from the dads of the world post-Paralympics.
“A few stray DMs,” Adicoff chuckled. “Nothing crazy.”
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The post Out Paralympic champ Jake Adicoff ‘still in disbelief’ after 4 gold medals appeared first on Outsports.
