Paralympic torchbearer Oksana Masters claimed her first medal of the 2024 Paris Video games on Wednesday, defending her gold within the girls’s biking H4-5 time trial. The 35-year-old American secured her spot on the prime of the rostrum after a exceptional comeback in the course of the second half of the race. On the halfway level, Masters trailed by 30 seconds however surged forward to complete with a time of 23:45.20, clinching her eighth Paralympic gold medal.
Chantal Haenen of the Netherlands took silver with a time of 23:51.44, whereas China’s Solar Bianbian secured the bronze, ending at 25:13.07.
This newest victory provides to Masters’ already legendary Paralympic profession, which now contains 18 medals. At present’s gold is her third in paracycling, one in every of three sports activities she has competed in since making her Paralympic debut on the London 2012 Video games.
The multi-sport athlete has additionally gained medals in pararowing and paraskiing, making her one of the vital adorned Paralympians in historical past. She at the moment holds 8 gold medals, 7 silver, and three bronze, and he or she’s not executed but.
Whereas her sporting profession might look like a fairy story, her begin in life was something however.
(Picture credit score: Getty Pictures)
Masters was born in Ukraine in 1989 with congenital disabilities attributable to radiation publicity from the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe. Her deformities included the absence of weight-bearing bones in her legs, a sixth toe on every foot, and webbed fingers with out thumbs. She was additionally lacking a part of her abdomen, her proper biceps, and one kidney. She was put up for adoption at beginning and spent a traumatic childhood in an orphanage. At age seven, she was adopted from an orphanage by an American mom and raised in Louisville, Kentucky.
By the age of 14, Masters had each legs amputated and underwent extra surgical procedures to switch her fingers into thumbs, enhancing her potential to perform independently.
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Inspired by her mom to take part in sports activities, Masters started adaptive rowing as a teen—a sport she fell in love with, kickstarting her Paralympic profession. She made her debut on the 2012 London Video games, the place she gained a bronze medal, turning into the primary American to medal in that class.
A again harm ended her rowing profession, however she quickly discovered a ardour for the slopes, competing in para Nordic snowboarding on the Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018, and Beijing 2022 Video games, amassing seven medals, together with two golds. Masters made her Paralympic paracycling debut on the Rio 2016 Video games, narrowly lacking out on a medal, however in Tokyo, she made up for it by profitable two gold medals within the hand-cycling time trial and highway race.
After defending her title within the time trial immediately, Masters’ Paralympic journey continues on Thursday when she goals to defend her H5 paracycling highway race title, earlier than competing within the H1-5 combined staff relay on Saturday.
