Oksana Masters

Oksana Oleksandrivna Masters (born June 19, 1989) is an American multi-sport Paralympic athlete from Louisville, Kentucky. Having primarily specialized in rowing and cross-country skiing, she won the first ever United States medal in trunk and arms mixed double sculls at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. She was also a part of the U.S. Nordic skiing team at the 2014 Winter Paralympics and the 2018 Winter Paralympics. She won two Paralympic medals in 2014 and five Paralympic medals in 2018, including two gold. She switched to para-cycling after the 2012 Paralympics and competed at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics, winning two gold medals at the latter. She competed at the 2022 Winter Paralympics, winning a gold medal in Biathlon – Women's 6 kilometres, sitting.

Oksana won the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability in 2020.

Early life Oksana was born Oksana Alexandrovna Bondarchuk in 1989, in Khmelnytskyi, including tibial hemimelia which resulted in different leg lengths, missing weight-bearing shinbones in her calves, webbed fingers with no thumbs, and six toes on each foot. She was abandoned by her birth parents, and given to a Ukrainian orphanage; she would continue to transition to two more orphanages until age 7. In the orphanages, she was frequently beaten and raped by men, sometimes more than once a day. The women who worked there pretended not to notice.

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. One night, Lainey and Oksana snuck 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 died as a result of the trauma she received.

After moving to the United States in 1997, Oksana had both of her legs 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. Oksana also had surgery to modify her fingers on each hand so they could function as thumbs. Masters graduated from the city's Atherton High School in 2008.

Rowing career

Masters began adaptive rowing in 2002 at age 13, and proceeded to win both the Adaptive World Championships Trials and the Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta by substantial margins.

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.

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. 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.

Masters won the silver medal in the women's 6km sitting biathlon event at the 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships held in Lillehammer, Norway. She also won the bronze medal in the women's 10km sitting biathlon event. In cross-country skiing, she won the gold medal in the women's long-distance sitting event.

Masters won her first Paralympic gold medal in biathlon at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in the 6 km sitting biathlon event.

Masters has twice been nominated for an ESPY for her Nordic skiing in the category of Best Female Athlete with a Disability.

Cycling career Masters has won two green World Cup medals and a bronze medal at the UCI Para-Cycling Worlds.

Personal life Masters is engaged to fellow American summer and winter Paralympian Aaron Pike.

Media appearances Masters' life story has been featured in a number of media sources, including Spirit, Southwest Airlines' in-flight magazine was named one of ten U.S. athletes to watch by The Guardian, and posed nude for ESPN The Magazine's annual "The Body Issue". Apple featured her in a "Making a difference. One app at a time." video, where she explains how her life changed with iOS apps.

Author The Hard Parts: A Story of Courage and Triumph Hardcover – February 21, 2023.