On Wednesday, Utahn and University of Utah Ph.D. student Sydney Peterson won the Milano Cortina Paralympics women’s 10K interval start classic standing race. The win earned Peterson her second gold medal, having also won the 4×2.5K mixed relay race at the 2022 Beijing Games.  Over the closin g weekend in the Italian Alps, Peterson earned two more golds, winning the 4×2.5K mixed relay gold once more and the 20K interval start free standing race on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.  In the relay, Peterson paired with Oksana Masters, Joshua Sweeney and Jake Adicoff. The team finished in 23:24.2, 12.5 seconds ahead of Ukraine, who took the silver medal. China took the bronze medal.  In the 20K, the Utahn won with a time factored of 47:25.8. Norway’s Vilde Nilson was 1:17 behind Peterson, winning the silver medal. Ukraine’s Oleksandra Kononova won the bronze medal. On Sunday, Peterson was all smiles crossing the finish line. The U.S. fans were waving little flags, cheering her on and sharing hugs as she claimed gold. Nilson was the first to offer Peterson congratulations, giving her a hug in the finish area.  “Honestly, I’m in disbelief,” Peterson said to NBC Sports about her third gold medal at the Games. “I felt really good skiing today, and I just went out there and tried to pace a good race. I started getting splits and I’m really surprised at how the results shook out.” Peterson thanked her wax techs and coaches for fueling her success in Italy.  “Typically, I’m not a great skier in really mushy, deep conditions,” Peterson said. “I favor a harder track. But, today they did a really good job setting up the course given the conditions. Rain is unfortunate — nobody likes to go for a 20K swim — but it worked out pretty well.” Peterson enjoyed being able to celebrate her career event alongside her parents and those of her teammates, who created a welcoming community for the U.S. skiers.  “It’s great to celebrate with them because they’re the people who supported me in skiing when I was younger,” Peterson said. “I’ve also had help from so many other people, who I know are back home watching and so I’m super thankful for them.” Peterson joked about how it could be fun to give triathlon a try at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Paralympics.  The Milano Cortina Games closed with Sunday’s Closing Ceremony at the Verone Olympic Arena. The post Utahn Sydney Peterson wins two more gold medals to close out Paralympics appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less