Sydney Peterson

Sydney Jo Peterson (born February 17, 2002) is an American para cross-country skier.

Sydney Peterson

Personal information
Nationality	American
Born	(2002-02-17) February 17, 2002 (age 23) Lake Elmo, Minnesota
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Para Nordic skiing (Para cross-country skiing)
Disability	Dystonia
Disability class	LW9
University team	St. Lawrence University
Medal record Representing  United States Winter Paralympics Women's para cross-country skiing 2022 Beijing 4 × 2.5 km mixed relay 2022 Beijing 15 km classical standing 2022 Beijing 1.5 km sprint standing World Para Snow Sports Championships 2021 Lillehammer 1 km 2021 Lillehammer 10 km 2021 Lillehammer 15 km 2023 Östersund 10 km 2023 Östersund 1 km

Career

Peterson began skiing at the age of 5. She skied for Stillwater Area High School in Minnesota.

Peterson won the silver medal in the women's 10 km standing cross-country skiing event and the woman's standing cross country sprint event at the 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships held in Lillehammer, Norway.^[1][2] She also won the bronze medal in the women's long-distance standing cross-country skiing event.^[3][4]

Peterson competed at the 2022 Winter Paralympics and created history in her first Paralympic appearance after claiming a silver medal in the women's 15 km classic standing event. In doing so she became the first standing American female to earn a medal. In addition to her silver medal achievement, Peterson also clinched bronze in the skate sprint and gold in the team mixed relay.

In the 2023 season, Peterson earned two bronze medals, in the Skate sprint and Skate 10 km, in the FIS 2023 Para Nordic World Championships in Östersund Sweden. At the championships, Peterson raced her debut race in biathlon earning 4th.^[5]

Additionally, Peterson skied on the Division 1 NCAA ski team at St. Lawrence University, where graduated from in 2023 with a bachelors of science in neuroscience. Peterson plans to pursue a PhD in neuroscience.

The fall of 2023, Peterson underwent a series of major surgeries to have a deep brain stimulator placed, in the hopes of slowing the progression of her dystonia.^[6] Shortly following DBS, Peterson returned to compete in the 2024 Biathlon World Championships^[7] and 2024 World Cup Finals^[8] where she earned two top 5 finishes.