As Paralympics approach, U.S. skier Sydney Peterson balances training and research

"It's much more fun to be able to do that after school with your friends than alone in a clinic. Peterson said this about skiing becoming her physical therapy when she began experiencing dystonia symptoms at age thirteen, highlighting how the sport provided both therapeutic benefit and social engagement compared to traditional clinical rehabilitation approaches."

"But, I was really fortunate that I still had all my teammates, still had my college coach. I was able to show up to practice each day. I still had that continuity. Peterson reflects on how her support system helped her cope as her symptoms worsened during college, emphasizing the importance of consistent community and structure in managing her condition while pursuing athletic excellence."

Sydney Peterson, a U.S. Paralympic ski team member, competes in the 2026 Winter Paralympics while pursuing a PhD in neuroscience at the University of Utah. She has dystonia, a neurological condition causing involuntary muscle contractions in her left arm and leg, which she manages by skiing with one pole and wearing a custom ankle brace. Beginning cross-country skiing at age five, Peterson discovered skiing served as enjoyable physical therapy when symptoms emerged at thirteen. A multi-medal Paralympian from the 2022 Beijing Paralympics, she credits her teammates and coach for supporting her through worsening symptoms in college. Now twenty-three, Peterson divides her time between training on slopes and conducting research in a rare-disease lab at the University of Utah, where she uses fruit flies to test drug effectiveness on genetic movement disorders.

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