Star Athlete Oksana Masters's Journey to the Paralympics Was Harder Than Most

Paralympian Oksana Masters may be the greatest to ever compete at the Paralympic Games. Now that there's another competition on the horizon, many wanted to learn more about Oksana, including how she became the incredible athlete that she is today.

Few Olympians have overcome more in order to compete, and her complete story goes back to the earliest days of her life. Here's what we know about what happened to Oksana and how it shaped her into the fierce competitor that she is today.

Oksana was born in Ukraine in the immediate aftermath of the Chernobyl accident, and she was born with multiple congenital conditions that affected her entire body. At birth, her legs were different lengths, and neither one contained the shinbones that carry much of the body's weight. Additionally, her feet had six toes, and each hand had five webbed fingers and no thumbs.

According to reporting in The Guardian, her biological parents abandoned her shortly after her birth, and while she was in the care of orphanages, she endured multiple instances of sexual assault. She was adopted by American college professor Gay Masters in 1997, and she was raised in Louisville, Ky. from the age of 7 onwards. After her adoption, she underwent several surgeries that helped improve her quality of life.

Her fifth fingers were permanently altered so that they would act more like thumbs, and she underwent two separate amputations that left her without legs by the time she had turned 14. The amputations were done because her legs could no longer support her increasing body weight.

None of that stopped her from becoming a hugely competitive athlete, though, and she is now one of the most decorated athletes in American history.

As a teenager, Oksana developed an interest in adaptive rowing that would ultimately lead her to the highest levels of the sport. Her first Paralympic Games were in 2012, where she earned a bronze medal in rowing alongside Augusto Perez. Following that medal, though, Oksana hurt her back, which prevented her from continuing in the sport. As a result, she diversified her interests and became a two-season Olympian after taking up para-cycling and cross-country skiing.

Oksana boasts two gold medals that she earned at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, as well as nine Olympic medals that she earned as a cross-country skier, including a gold medal from the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. She also won two gold medals and one silver in Beijing for the biathlon. Suffice it to say, then, that Oksana has proven herself to be a fierce competitor in all seasons.

What's more, Oksana will be back for the 2024 Games and will be competing in para-cycling events. She is already the record holder for the most medals at the Winter Games, and it seems like she might not be done adding hardware to her shelf. Only time will tell how many more medals she can add to her mantle.