The following press release was recently received from U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Here’s USSS media with more. Instagram embeds are my own.
U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the national governing body for skiing and snowboarding in the United States, in partnership with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, officially announces the integration of the U.S. Para Nordic Ski Team into its program. The move expands the organization’s portfolio to 11 teams and marks another major step in advancing Paralympic sport.
Para nordic will become part of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team, which includes alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle moguls, freestyle aerials, nordic combined, Para alpine and ski jumping. The organization also oversees the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team and Toyota U.S. Para Snowboard Team.
The decorated U.S. Para Nordic Team has been managed by the USOPC dating back to 2014, and includes both men and women athletes with physical disabilities competing in cross-country skiing and biathlon. The program is the most successful Para nordic team in the world, featuring a mix of veteran champions and rising talent. Team USA secured a total of 10 gold medals in nordic skiing at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Games — the most ever for the U.S. in the sport.
Leading the roster is Oksana Masters, the most decorated winter Paralympian in history. Masters has earned 24 Paralympic medals, including 13 gold, across both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, most recently adding four gold medals in Milano–Cortina. She is joined by eight-time Paralympic medalist Jake Adicoff, seven-time Paralympic medalist Sydney Peterson, who added four medals in Milano–Cortina, and 11-time Paralympic medalist Kendall Gretsch, who, like Masters, competes in both the Summer and Winter Games.
“Milano–Cortina 2026 was an incredible moment for U.S. Paralympic nordic skiers, who came together to deliver 15 medals and show the strength and depth of both the athletes and the program,” said Masters. “As we look ahead to joining U.S. Ski & Snowboard, it’s exciting to think about the future and the added visibility and resources that can come with it. We’re proud of everything we’ve accomplished to date, and we’re motivated to carry that legacy forward as we begin a new chapter with U.S. Ski & Snowboard.”
“Bringing Para nordic under the U.S. Ski & Snowboard umbrella is incredibly exciting for our organization,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, President & CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “As the best Para nordic team in the world, they will be fully integrated into our 11-team structure and supported year-round by our world-class staff. We look forward to working together to support their goals and continue building upon their success on the world stage, and we thank the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee for their partnership in this transition.”
“The integration of the U.S. Para Nordic Team into U.S. Ski & Snowboard marks an important moment for these great athletes and our respective organizations, but also for the future of winter Paralympic sport in the United States,” said USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland. “The success at Milano–Cortina 2026 proved what is possible when world-class athletes are supported over many years in their efforts to achieve greatness. We believe this transition will build on that collective commitment to supporting Paralympic sport with the resources, structure, and ambition that these athletes deserve.”
The move builds on U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s continued expansion of Para sport within the organization. In 2024, the federation integrated the Para snowboard and Para alpine teams. Since then, both teams have achieved immense success on the world stage, including Para snowboard winning the Nations Cup throughout the last two seasons and winning eight medals at the 2026 Paralympic Games — three more medals than the Beijing Games in 2022.
The teams are led by some of the most accomplished athletes in Para sport, including the most decorated Para snowboarder in history Brenna Huckaby, four-time Paralympic medalist and two-time Para snowboard champion Noah Elliott, and three-time Paralympic alpine skiing medalist Andrew Kurka. They are joined by a rising generation of talent, including Para snowboard athlete and recent Paralympic champion Kate Delson, highlighting the growing depth and strength across both teams.
With the integration, the U.S. Para Nordic Team will benefit from U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s full organizational infrastructure. By bringing the program under the same high-performance and commercial umbrella as its other national teams, U.S. Ski & Snowboard will provide expanded resources both on and off the snow.
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