As the Winter Paralympics kicked off Friday, a 2018 Bowdoin College graduate is considered a “major medal contender” by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

Jake Adicoff is one of the world’s top visually impaired skiers and a reigning champion. It is his fourth Paralympics, and this time he wants his first individual gold medal.

Adicoff has won a relay gold and three silver medals in previous Games. He made his Paralympics debut while still in high school in Idaho, then competed for Bowdoin against non-para athletes.

He retired after his second Paralympics, but renewed his training during the COVID-19 pandemic and now at 30 years old, the former Polar Bear said he has “unfinished business” and aims to win several gold medals in the Milan Cortina Games, starting with a race on Tuesday.

“This time I feel a lot more confident. It feels a lot more like a real possibility,” he told Oregon’s KGW TV station.

Adicoff was born with a visual impairment that left him without vision in his right eye and limited vision in his left eye. He will ski in Italy with two guides who are friends and longtime ski companions.

The U.S. Paralympic team also features a Bates College alumnus, Tyler McKenzie, making his debut at the Games.

McKenzie is originally from Massachusetts and is scheduled to compete in five alpine ski events. Bates reported he’s the first Paralympian in the school’s history.

He competed on the Bobcat ski team and graduated in 2014. Three years later, the college reported, he was free skiing with friends in Utah and experienced a severe nerve injury called a complete brachial plexus avulsion.

“I had to deal with the realization that I had pretty much lost all of the ability to use my left arm,” he said. He has experienced years of nerve pain, and now he competes with one ski pole.

The alpine ski events in Cortina began before the opening ceremonies, with the first medal event planned for Saturday.

In sled hockey, the U.S. team trying to defend its gold medal includes three people with connections to Maine’s Camp No Limits. In a social media post, the camp said they include David Eustace and Jack Wallace, and volunteer Josh Pauls. The team has its first game Saturday.