Para cross-country skiing: Peter Wolter and Jake Adicoff set their sights on Milan/Cortina 2026
On 14 February, American Jake Adicoff and his guide Peter Wolter won gold in the 20-kilometre skate event at the world championships in Toblach (Italy). This fantastic performance came just a few months after they began working together last autumn, but the story between the two men goes back much further.
The two friends grew up not far from each other in the Wood River Valley in south-central Idaho (USA) and skied together at the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation in Ketchum. When Jake Adicoff was looking for a new guide in his project towards the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games, he naturally turned to his friend Peter Wolter.
“The transition to the role of guide is quite easy for me, because Jake and I ski together all the time, whether it’s for split training or cross-country sessions, explained guide Peter Wolter in a communication from the American federation. So it’s only natural for Jake to slip in behind me. The transition to the role of guide went very smoothly.”
Despite some very good results, including second place in the sprint skate at the Worlds in Trondheim (Norway),the two men still have some fine-tuning to do to optimise their performances.
“I’ve spent enough time skiing with him to understand his strengths, said Peter Wolter of Jake Adicoff. But there are plenty of times when I’m going a bit too fast, and Jake yells at me saying ‘Gap’ or ‘Slow down’ . And then there are also times when I’m going too slow, and Jake tells me I can speed up.”
Peter Wolter is tipped to join Jake Adicoff at the Milan/Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games next winter, where he will be among the favourites for a medal. The American cross-country skier already has one gold and three silver medals to his name.
“Unless Jake and I have a serious falling out and hate each other next year, which I think is unlikely, I’ll probably be there with Jake. Having the chance to live in the village, watch the opening ceremony and experience [the Paralympics] with Jake is great. And the cool thing about Jake is that the potential to win a medal is much higher than if I went to the Olympics for myself,” concluded Petet Wolter.
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