Jake Adicoff is fresh off winning 4 Gold Medals at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Milano Cortina (+1 Gold from Beijing 2022)! Jake is a U.S. Paralympic cross-country skier and one of the most dominant athletes in the sport today. Jake is visually impaired and competes alongside his guides, Reid Goble and Peter Wolter, two elite skiers who help him navigate the course at race speed, communicating constantly and working in total sync.

Together, this team just delivered an extraordinary performance at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games. Jake came in with a bold goal: to win four gold medals. Over the course of the week, that’s exactly what he did. It was a defining moment in his career and a testament not just to his talent, but to the trust, communication, and connection between all three of them.

Jake’s journey to this point has been years in the making; from growing up skiing in Sun Valley, to competing at Bowdoin College, to finding his path in Paralympic sport and building a world-class partnership with his guides.

In this episode, we talk about that journey, what it’s really like to race as a team, the highs and challenges of the Paralympic stage, and the deeper meaning behind Jake’s experience as an openly gay athlete competing at the highest level.

Ben is coming off an incredible Winter Olympic Games in Italy where he won two silver medals in the individual sprint and the team sprint, with teammate, Gus Schumacher. Both results were historic. The individual sprint medal was the first Olympic medal for a U.S. man in cross-country skiing in fifty years, since fellow Vermonter Bill Koch won silver at the 1976 Winter Olympics.

For decades, Koch’s medal stood as a symbol of what might be possible for American men in a sport long dominated by Scandinavia. And fittingly, Ben’s story is deeply connected to that history. He grew up just a few miles from Koch in southern Vermont, skiing in the same community and even spending countless hours as a kid skiing jumps and terrain in Koch’s backyard training playground.

Fast-forward to February 10th in Val di Fiemme, Italy — and suddenly that history came full circle. Ben put together the race of his career, skiing aggressively but with remarkable composure through the rounds before battling for silver in the Olympic final. An epic day in itself, Ben returned just a few days later with teammate, Gus, to compete in the team sprint event. And yet again, both athletes showed up composed, full of life, and ready to fight for a medal. It was a close race til the very end and the two guys walked away with a set of silver medals.

Today, I chat with Ben about both races. We discuss the journey that led him there, what it was like growing up in the shadow of Bill Koch’s legacy, some behind the scenes with his ski technician, Eli Brown, and some of the moments and perspectives you maybe haven’t heard yet.

Gear West presents this elite-athlete panel coming to you LIVE from the Birkie Expo hosted by me, Alayna Sonnesyn. Featuring David Norris, Jessica Yeaton, Reid Goble and Anna-Maria Dietze. We dive into fueling strategies, racing tactics, training preparation, and the love and joy of skiing the American Birkebeiner. How do we race to win the Birkie? What keeps us coming back for more? Listen to find out!