On Tuesday, the United States para cross-country team came out swinging, taking home two gold and three total medals on the first day of competition. On Wednesday, it upped the ante with four total medals: Oksana Masters, Jake Adicoff and Sydney Peterson all won gold across the 10km divisions, while Kendall Gretsch grabbed bronze.

Both Masters and Adicoff are now two-for-two in cross-country Paralympic titles at these Games: both found their way to the top step of the podium for the second straight day after winning their sprints on Tuesday. For Masters, who also competes in para biathlon competitions, it is her third gold medal in four races in Italy.

"I’m feeling just so much pure joy and shock. I did not expect it at all, because in the first half of the race, I was (coming) from behind and really didn’t know if I could close that gap,” Masters said after her 10km victory. "When you line up, you do everything you can… it’s just for me to go and execute, and nothing’s a given. I had to fight.”

While nothing is given, on each day of competition there is everything to compete for. For Team USA, each race is an opportunity to improve from the Beijing Games. In 2022, the United States finished with eight total medals in para cross-country—one gold, six silver and one bronze—which left them fourth in the sport’s standings.

It's a different story in Italy. Over two days of competition at the Milan Cortina Paralympics, the United States has grabbed five gold medals in para cross-country skiing to go along with one silver and one bronze.

"I have for sure got a lot of unfinished business from Beijing, in all the cross country, which is my specialty. I feel it is my focus to upgrade those silvers to golds,” said Masters, who now has 22 Paralympic medals and 12 Paralympic titles to her name. "I’m just so proud to be able to bring home another gold for Team USA.”

For Peterson, who won gold in the women’s 10km standing race, the win was extra special. Peterson never had won an individual Paralympic title in her career: she had a gold relay medal, and both a silver and bronze individual medal from Beijing. On Wednesday, for the first time, she stood alone on the top step of the podium.

"I’m super excited. It was a really tough race out there (and) really tough conditions, but I’m really happy with it,” Peterson said. "It’s really cool. I feel like I’ve been second and third a lot, so winning an individual gold is amazing."

Adicoff expressed a similar motivation on Tuesday, when he finally achieved gold in the men’s VI sprint race, a title he had been chasing since the Sochi Games. On Wednesday, he was focused on managing the fatigue of back-to-back race days as he chased his second Paralympic title.

"I just try to relax and be confident in the effort. It was definitely hard today. I was tired after yesterday, but I just tried to have some fun and stay in it,” Adicoff said. “I’m just so happy to get the win today."

At a Games filled with milestones, often happening in quick succession, it can be difficult to parse out the individual moments of brilliance. Even an athlete like Masters — who already has equaled the number of gold medals she won at her historic Beijing Games, scored a landmark 20th Paralympic medal and moved into 2nd place on Team USA's all-time gold medal list for the Winter Paralympics — still can be caught by surprise.

“I didn’t even think about that, but oh my gosh. The competitor in me wants to keep pushing, (to find out) how many golds can I get from one Games. But at the same time, I am so excited to see the sport growing,” Masters said of her own achievements. “Younger athletes are coming up, they’re helping me to get better, and I’m so excited to share this podium with my teammate [Gretsch].”

Gretsch also was surprised with her bronze medal in the women's 10km sitting, admitting that she didn’t expect to land on the cross-country podium. Gretsch sat out of the sprint races on Tuesday after winning two medals in para biathlon at the start of the Games.

"I didn’t think that I was going to be able to get a cross-country medal this week, so this was really exciting. It was extra fun that it was such a tight race,” she said. "It’s such a relief and it’s so exciting. It’s fun to be able to be around the whole team and celebrate with them too."

With no biathlon or cross-country competitions on Thursday, all the para Nordic athletes will have a chance to rest before returning to the snow for the biathlon relays on Friday.