Minnesota cross-country skier wins gold at Paralympics
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Minnesota cross-country skier Sydney Peterson won her first individual Paralympic gold medal on Wednesday, winning the women’s 10-kilometer classic standing event at the Winter Games in Italy.
Peterson, who’s from Lake Elmo, finished 2.7 seconds ahead of the silver medalist from Norway — and more than 2 minutes ahead of the bronze-medal skier from Canada in the interval-start race, held on a course in Val di Fiemme, Italy.
It’s Peterson’s second medal of these games — she claimed silver on Tuesday in the women’s sprint classic standing race. She previously earned bronze, silver and relay gold medals at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing.
“It’s really cool. I feel like I’ve been second and third a lot, so winning an individual gold is amazing,” Peterson said after winning gold Wednesday. “It was pretty exciting. I have not won a lot of races. Prior to this season, I had not won a race before, so it’s really cool. This season I’m able to get to the start line and be healthy, which is awesome.”
Peterson, 24, was a multi-sport athlete in high school and is pursuing a Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of Utah.
According to her Team USA biography, Peterson at age 13 “began experiencing symptoms of reflex sympathetic dystrophy and dystonia in her left arm — neurological disorders that caused involuntary muscle contractions and chronic pain. Over time, the dystonia progressed, affecting the mobility in both her left arm and leg.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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