Gold Again: Sweeny's relay call sparks a 12-year return to the top
The call came the day before, but the answer did not feel real until that night. After four years of training, Josh Sweeney did not know he would be on Team USA’s Para Cross Country relay until the night before, with one sleepless night to settle nerves in a country far from home. That is the newest chapter for the Idaho Paralympian, who is back home now as a two-time Paralympic gold medalist.
The medals are 12 years apart and came in two completely different winter sports, gold on ice in 2014, then gold on snow in 2026. This time, Sweeney’s focus was built around Para Biathlon and Para-Nordic cross-country ski racing, the two disciplines that shape life for a Paralympic Nordic sit skier. He said he raced a biathlon sprint pursuit the morning before the relay decision and finished sixth, a result that left him encouraged even without the podium.
Then came the conversation that changed everything. “We don’t actually know we’re on the relay team until the night before,” Sweeney said. He said coaches asked him the afternoon before if he would consider it, and later that night he learned he was the only new addition joining three teammates who had already won relay gold in 2022.
Sweeney did not describe it as a casual plug and play. He described it as a moment you respect. “It was a huge honor for me to be selected to that team,” he said.
If you are looking for the moment the nerves showed up, he said it did not come in a big locker room speech. “Nobody talked about anything,” Sweeney said, explaining that everyone carried the same pressure and excitement without needing to say it out loud. The real reveal came after the decision, when the venue was quiet and the mind had room to run.
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