Roundup: Andy Soule, Team USA’s First Paralympic Biathlon Medalist, Up For U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame

Every other week we scour the web for the latest going on in the world of U.S. Para Nordic skiing. Here’s what you missed!

Andy Soule Named Finalist for U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame
Retired Para Nordic skier Andy Soule is among nine Para athletes who were named finalists for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame on March 25.

Soule, a three-time Paralympic medalist, is the only cross-country skier to be in consideration for the hall of fame’s Class of 2025. The list of finalists includes 15 Olympians, including Carmelo Anthony (basketball), Allyson Felix (track and field) and Serena Williams (tennis), as well as nine Paralympians.

Fans have until April 14 to vote for the finalists and help determine which ones will be inducted into the hall of fall during a special ceremony on July 12 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Soule, a retired U.S. Army specialist, took up sit skiing as a way to stay active after having both of his legs amputated following an explosion while deployed in Afghanistan. In 2005, he attended a cross-country skiing camp in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Five years later, Soule made his Paralympic debut as a sit skier at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. He became the first U.S. athlete to earn a Paralympic medal in the biathlon when he took the bronze in Vancouver.

Soule competed in three consecutive Winter Paralympics, from 2010-18. He had some of his biggest moments at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics, winning a gold medal in the men’s cross-country sprint and a bronze in the 12.5-kilometer biathlon.

Zhenghong Schlechte Hopes To Follow Classmate to the Winter Paralympics
Zhenghong Schlechte was inspired to pursue Para Nordic skiing by one of his classmates in Mahtomedi, Minnesota.

Schlechte was a freshman at Mahtomedi High School when Max Nelson was a senior. Nelson qualified for the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics during his senior year and missed a few weeks of classes to compete as a visually impaired skier on the world’s largest stage.

“He did motivate me because I thought it was really cool to see someone else with a disability doing good in the sport,” Schlechte told USParaNordic.org. “I was like ‘This is hard, but it’s kind of cool seeing that he had the opportunity to go to Beijing that winter. That’s sick that he got to do that.’”

Three years later, Schlechte, 17, is a promising standing skier who competed this past season at his first world cup event in Val di Fiemme, Italy. He raced at the same venue that will host the Para Nordic skiing events during the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Paralympics.

Kendall Gretsch Celebrates 33rd Birthday
Kendall Gretsch had plenty of reasons to celebrate this past season, and she reached another milestone earlier this month.

Gretsch, a Paralympic gold medalist in both Nordic skiing and triathlon, celebrated her 33rd birthday on April 2. Her birthday came only a few weeks after she was crowned the FIS women’s sit skiing world cup overall winner following a dominant performance during the 2024-25 season.

A seven-time Paralympic medalist, Gretsch showed this past season why she’ll again be considered among the favorites at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Paralympic. In February, she won three gold medals at the IBU Para Biathlon World Championships in Pokljuka, Slovenia.

Adelaide Bielke Enjoys Racing At “Brutal” Biathlon Nationals
Adelaide Bielke admitted she had a “brutal” time in late March while competing at the U.S. Biathlon Senior Nationals in Bozeman, Montana, but it was still worth it for her.

The standing skier from Stillwater, Minnesota, wrote on Instagram that she had fun racing despite battling injuries, trouble sleeping and the course conditions. It didn’t matter that her times were slower than she had hoped.

“Even though it was tough, I am so very thankful to everyone who has helped me get to where I am today,” Bielke wrote. “It was so great to finish off my last season as a high schooler before I head off to new and exciting adventures.”