BY HEATHER FOSTER
Two days into the 2023 U.S. Para Nordic World Cup at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation XC Gold Team member Jake Adicoff and his fellow U.S. Para Nordic Team member and guide Sam Wood have two silver medals around their necks.
The World Cup races continue at Soldier Hollow through March 8.
In the sprint race on March 1, Adicoff and Wood skied themselves through the heats into a second-place finish in the A final, just behind the Swedish team of Zebastian Modin with guide D. Richardsson who claimed the gold.
“Yeah, pretty tight turnaround from a race in Switzerland over the weekend, and the classic sprint was pretty grueling,” said Adicoff. “But we turned it around and skied a competitive race in the 5k. Fun to be back with the para team, and really awesome to race at such an iconic venue so close to home.”
On day two, the dynamic duo found themselves on the podium again, claiming the silver in a fast and furious 5-kilometer freestyle race. Sweden’s Modin again claimed the gold, USA’s Adicoff and Wood in second, followed in third by Germany’s Nico Messinger with guide R. Wunderle.
“Jake knows the courses well at Soho and has recently competed in a few marathons in central Europe, so he’s feeling good about his race endurance going into the 20km freestyle on March 8th,” said SVSEF XC Gold Team Head Coach, Chris Mallory. “We can’t wait to see what happens!”
Adicoff and Wood claimed a handful of medals at the 2023 FIS Para Nordic World Championships in Ostersund, Sweden, in late January.