Oksana Masters
Oksana Masters (born June 19, 1989) is an American multi-sport
Oksana won the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability in 2020.[5]
Early life
Oksana was born in 1989, in Khmelnitsky,
In the orphanage, Oksana witnessed another orphan girl, her best friend Lainey be murdered. The children in the orphanage were always on the brink of starvation and malnutrition, so one night Lainey and Oksana sneaked out to get food, but Oksana slipped and hit a chair. Men hearing the noise found Lainey. Oksana managed to hide but heard them hit Lainey six times. Her best friend had passed away as a result of the trauma she received.[6]
After she turned 7, Oksana was adopted by Gay Masters, an unmarried American speech therapy professor with no biological children.[6][11]
After moving to the United States in 1997, both of Oksana's legs were eventually amputated above the knee—her left leg at age nine and her right leg at age 14—as they became increasingly painful and unable to support her weight.[12] Oksana also had surgery to modify her innermost fingers on each hand so they could function as thumbs.[11]
When she arrived in the U.S., her mother was a professor at the University at Buffalo; she moved to Louisville, Kentucky in 2001 when her mother took a faculty position at the University of Louisville,[13] and graduated from the city's Atherton High School in 2008.[14]
Rowing career
Masters began
In 2011, Masters and teammate Augusto Perez placed second at the Adaptive World Championship trials in West Windsor, New Jersey.[11]
In preparation for the 2012 London Paralympic Games, Masters teamed with Rob Jones, a United States Marine Corps veteran who lost both legs to an IED explosion in Afghanistan.[6][11] Masters and Jones called themselves "Team Bad Company"[15] and proceeded to win both the Adaptive World Championships Trials and the Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta by substantial margins.[11]
On September 2, at the 2012 London Paralympics, Masters and Jones finished third—winning the first-ever United States medal (bronze) in trunk and arms mixed double sculls with a final time of 4:05.56. They finished behind China (gold) and France (silver) while just edging out Great Britain.[2]
Due to a back injury, Masters has given up competitive rowing since winning a bronze medal at the 2012 London Paralympics. She has since taken up para-cycling and cross country skiing.[16]
Cross-country skiing career
Following her medal win in rowing at the 2012 Paralympics, Masters took up cross-country skiing. At the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, she won a silver medal in the 12 km Nordic and a bronze medal in the 5 km Nordic. She also placed fourth and eighth in two biathlon events. Masters sustained a back injury during this time and gave up rowing as a result. She took up cycling as part of the recovery process.[17]
Masters won her first Paralympic gold medal at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in the cross-country skiing women's 1.5 km sprint classical event after experiencing multiple setbacks. She had injured her elbow three weeks prior to the Games and had also withdrawn from a biathlon event the day before after falling during the race.[18][19] She won five medals total from those Games, three in cross-country and two in biathlon. She won the gold medal in the cross-country skiing's 5 km sitting event and the bronze medal in the cross-country skiing's 12 km sitting event. She won silver medals in the 6 km sitting biathlon event and the 12.5 km sitting biathlon event.[20][21][22]
Masters won the silver medal in the women's 6 km sitting biathlon event at the 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships held in Lillehammer, Norway.[23][24] She also won the bronze medal in the women's 10 km sitting biathlon event.[25][26] In cross-country skiing, she won the gold medal in the women's long-distance sitting event.[27][28]
Masters won her first Paralympic gold medal in biathlon at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in the 6 km sitting biathlon event.[29]
Masters has twice been nominated for an ESPY for her Nordic skiing in the category of Best Female Athlete with a Disability.[30]
Cycling career
Masters has won two bronze World Cup medals and a bronze medal at the UCI Para-Cycling Worlds.
Personal life
Masters is in a relationship with American paralympian Aaron Pike.[31]
Media appearances
Masters' life story has been featured in a number of media sources, including Spirit, Southwest Airlines' in-flight magazine[11] and Sports Illustrated.[6] She was also named one of the "11 Hottest Paralympic Athletes" by msn NOW,[32] was named one of ten U.S. athletes to watch by The Guardian,[33] and posed nude for ESPN The Magazine's annual "The Body Issue".[34] Apple featured her in a "Making a difference. One app at a time." video, where she explains how her life changed with iOS apps.[35]
Author
- The Hard Parts: A Story of Courage and Triumph Hardcover – 21 Feb. 2023.[36]
References
- ^ USRowing (2012), Oksana Masters, archived from the original on March 5, 2014, retrieved September 11, 2012
- ^ a b Johnson, Stephen (September 5, 2012). "Lovettsville veteran wins bronze in Paralympics". Loudoun Times-Mirror. Leesburg, Virginia: Times Community Media. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
- ^ U.S. Olympic Committee (February 21, 2013). "2014 U.S. Paralympic Team Named". TeamUSA.org. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
- ^ OlympicTalk (March 5, 2022). "Oksana Masters wins first U.S. gold of Winter Paralympics". OlympicTalk | NBC Sports. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
- ^ "PAST WINNERS". Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Rosenberg, Michael (August 27, 2012). "The Marine And The Orphan". Sports Illustrated. Time Inc. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
- ^ Holm, Jeremy (August 25, 2012). "Opinion: Let's not forget about Team USA's other half". KSL.com. Salt Lake City: Deseret Digital Media. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
- ^ "'Chernobyl made me an orphan. I don't let it define me'". BBC Sport. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
- ^ "370: Finding Your Superpower in a World of Adversity". Finding Mastery. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Cengel, Katya. "Oksana" (PDF). Spirit. Southwest Airlines. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
- ^ a b "About Me: Oksana Masters". Archived from the original on August 5, 2016.
- ^ "Daughter of Louisville physician to go for gold at 2014 Winter Paralympics" (Press release). University of Louisville Physicians. March 6, 2014. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
- The Courier-Journal. Archived from the originalon March 10, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
- ^ Jackman, Tom (August 30, 2012). "Lovettsville's Rob Jones to compete in rowing in London Paralympic games". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
- ^ [1] Paralympian Oksana Masters pursues cycling spot – USA Today Sports Retrieved May 17, 2016.
- ^ a b "Oksana Masters". Archived from the original on October 11, 2014.
- ^ "2018 Paralympics: After setbacks, Oksana Masters wins gold". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ "Oksana Masters claims her first Paralympic gold at Pyeongchang 2018". Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ "2018 Paralympics: Oksana Masters' attitude, strength make her medal favorite in six events". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ "Oksana Masters, still a 'baby' in biathlon, poised for Paralympic gold". NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ Houston, Michael (January 15, 2022). "Russians take biathlon golds at World Para Snow Sports Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ "Clean podium sweeps for RPC and Ukraine on Para biathlon's opening day". Paralympic.org. January 15, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ "Belarus' Yury Holub reigns supreme for second gold medal despite icy slip". Paralympic.org. January 16, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
- ^ Houston, Michael (January 16, 2022). "Russian trio win again in biathlon at the World Para Snow Sports Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
- ^ Houston, Michael (January 18, 2022). "Masters wins first gold of World Para Snow Sports Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
- ^ "USA's Oksana Masters claims 10th world title days after recovering from COVID". Paralympic.org. January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
- ^ OlympicTalk (March 5, 2022). "Oksana Masters wins first U.S. gold of Winter Paralympics". OlympicTalk | NBC Sports. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
- ^ "Oksana Masters".
- ]
- ^ "Meet the 11 hottest Paralympic athletes". msn NOW. August 24, 2012. Archived from the original on August 27, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2012. [dead link]
- ^ Parker, Graham (August 24, 2012). "Paralympics 2012: 10 US athletes to watch in London". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
- ^ Rapp, Timothy. "ESPN Body Issue 2012: Best Quotes from the Athletes Who Posed for the Mag". Bleacher Report.
- ^ iOS – Making a difference. One app at a time. Archived 2016-07-03 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved July 7, 2013.[dead link]
- ISBN 978-1-3985-1992-3.
External links
- Oksana Masters at World Rowing
- Oksana Masters at Team USA (archived)
- Oksana Masters at the International Paralympic Committee
- Oksana Masters at IPC.InfostradaSports.com (archived)
- Oksana Masters at the IPC Tokyo 2020 website[dead link]