Oksana Masters

Oksana Masters (born June 19, 1989) is an American multi-sport Paralympic athlete of Ukrainian descent from Louisville, Kentucky.^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[4]

Oksana Masters

Masters at 2012 Summer Paralympic Games
Personal information
Birth name	Oksana Alexandrovna Bondarchuk
Nationality	American
Born	(1989-06-19) June 19, 1989 (age 34) Khmelnytskyi, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) (2012)
Weight	122 lb (55 kg) (2012)
Website	Oksana Masters athlete bio
Sport
Country	USA
Sport	Adaptive rowing, Para-cycling, Cross-country skiing, Biathlon
Event	Mixed Sculls
Team	U.S. Paralympic
Partner	Aaron Pike
Coached by	Justin Lednar, Bob Hurley, Roger Payne, Brad Alan Lewis
Achievements and titles
Paralympic finals	2012 Summer Paralympics: Trunk and arms mixed double sculls – Bronze, 2014 Winter Paralympics: Nordic Ski Cross Country – Silver & Bronze and Biathlon, 2016 Summer Paralympics: Cycling
Medal record Representing  United States Winter Paralympic Games Women's para cross-country skiing 2018 Pyeongchang 1.5km sprint classic sitting 2018 Pyeongchang 5 km sitting 2022 Beijing 4 × 2.5 km mixed relay 2014 Sochi 12 km sitting 2022 Beijing 15 km sitting 2022 Beijing 1.5 km sprint sitting 2022 Beijing 10 km sitting 2014 Sochi 5 km sitting 2018 Pyeongchang 12 km sitting Women's para biathlon 2022 Beijing 6 km sitting 2022 Beijing 12.5 km sitting 2018 Pyeongchang 6 km sitting 2018 Pyeongchang 12.5 km sitting 2022 Beijing 10 km sitting Summer Paralympic Games Women's pararowing 2012 London Trunk and arms mixed double sculls Women's para-cycling 2020 Tokyo Road time trial H4–5 2020 Tokyo Road race H5 Road World Championships 2023 Glasgow Road race H5

Oksana won the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability in 2020.^[5]

Early life

Oksana was born in 1989, in Khmelnitsky,^[6] Ukraine, three years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, with several radiation-induced birth defects,^[7][8] including tibial hemimelia (resulting in different leg lengths), missing weight-bearing shinbones in her calves, webbed fingers with no thumbs, and six toes on each foot.^[6] 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.^[9] In the orphanages was frequently beaten, men raped her regularly, sometimes more than once a day, while the women who worked there pretended not to notice.^[6][10]

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

 

Rob Jones and Oksana Masters at the 2012 Adaptive World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia

Masters began adaptive rowing in 2002 at age 13,^[6][11] shortly before her right leg was amputated.^[6] She continued afterward and began adaptive rowing competitively. In 2010, she competed at the CRASH-B Sprints, setting a world record in the process. She was also the first adaptive sculler to compete in the Indianapolis Rowing Club "Head of the Eagle" regatta, winning the women's open singles event in the process.^[11]

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

 

Oksana Masters at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia

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.^[12] She competed in hand-cycling events in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, where she placed 4th in the road race event and 5th in the timed trial.^[17] At the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo she finished first in the time trial and the road race, her first Paralympic gold medals at the Summer Games.

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

1. USRowing (2012), , archived from the original on March 5, 2014, retrieved September 11, 2012
2. Johnson, Stephen (September 5, 2012). "Lovettsville veteran wins bronze in Paralympics". Loudoun Times-Mirror. Leesburg, Virginia: Times Community Media. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
3. U.S. Olympic Committee (February 21, 2013). . TeamUSA.org. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
4. OlympicTalk (March 5, 2022). "Oksana Masters wins first U.S. gold of Winter Paralympics". OlympicTalk | NBC Sports. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
5. "PAST WINNERS". Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.
6. Rosenberg, Michael (August 27, 2012). "The Marine And The Orphan". Sports Illustrated. Time Inc. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
7. 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.
8. "'Chernobyl made me an orphan. I don't let it define me'". BBC Sport. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
9. Dart, Tom; @Tom_Dart (July 9, 2020). "'I was lucky to make it out the orphanage': Oksana Masters' extraordinary journey". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
10. "370: Finding Your Superpower in a World of Adversity". Finding Mastery. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
11. Cengel, Katya. (PDF). Spirit. Southwest Airlines. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
12. . Archived from the original on August 5, 2016.
13. (Press release). University of Louisville Physicians. March 6, 2014. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
14. Brownstein, Glenn (March 9, 2014). "Louisville's Oksana Masters wins milestone silver medal in Winter Paralympics skiing". The Courier-Journal. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
15. Jackman, Tom (August 30, 2012). "Lovettsville's Rob Jones to compete in rowing in London Paralympic games". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
16. [1] Paralympian Oksana Masters pursues cycling spot – USA Today Sports Retrieved May 17, 2016.
17. . Archived from the original on October 11, 2014.
18. "2018 Paralympics: After setbacks, Oksana Masters wins gold". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
19. "Oksana Masters claims her first Paralympic gold at Pyeongchang 2018". Retrieved March 16, 2018.
20. Parker-Pope, Tara (March 9, 2018). "Oksana Masters's Road From a Ukrainian Orphanage to Paralympic Stardom". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
21. "2018 Paralympics: Oksana Masters' attitude, strength make her medal favorite in six events". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
22. . NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
23. Houston, Michael (January 15, 2022). "Russians take biathlon golds at World Para Snow Sports Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
24. "Clean podium sweeps for RPC and Ukraine on Para biathlon's opening day". Paralympic.org. January 15, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
25. "Belarus' Yury Holub reigns supreme for second gold medal despite icy slip". Paralympic.org. January 16, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
26. Houston, Michael (January 16, 2022). "Russian trio win again in biathlon at the World Para Snow Sports Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
27. Houston, Michael (January 18, 2022). "Masters wins first gold of World Para Snow Sports Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
28. "USA's Oksana Masters claims 10th world title days after recovering from COVID". Paralympic.org. January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
29. OlympicTalk (March 5, 2022). "Oksana Masters wins first U.S. gold of Winter Paralympics". OlympicTalk | NBC Sports. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
30. "Oksana Masters".
31. "WATCH: US Star Oksana Masters Shares a Heartwarming Moment With Boyfriend Aaron Pike at Beijing Winter Paralympics 2022". Romantic Partner Conflict Scale (RPCS). doi:10.13072/midss.267. Retrieved September 27, 2023. ^{[dead link]}
32. . msn NOW. August 24, 2012. Archived from the original on August 27, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2012. ^{[dead link]}
33. 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.
34. Rapp, Timothy. "ESPN Body Issue 2012: Best Quotes from the Athletes Who Posed for the Mag". Bleacher Report.
35. iOS – Making a difference. One app at a time. 2016-07-03 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved July 7, 2013.^{[dead link]}
36. Masters, Oksana (February 21, 2023). The Hard Parts. Scribner. ISBN 978-1-3985-1992-3.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oksana Masters.

• Oksana Masters at World Rowing  
• at Team USA (archived)  
• Oksana Masters at the International Paralympic Committee  
• at IPC.InfostradaSports.com (archived)  
• Oksana Masters at the IPC Tokyo 2020 website^{[dead link]}