Oksana Masters

17-Time Paralympic Medalist

Nordic Skiing (Cross Country & Biathlon), Road Hand Cycling, and Rowing

As a multi-medalist in World Cups, World Championships and Paralympic sports, Oksana Masters is the embodiment of the triumph of the human spirit over any obstacle.
A native of Ukraine who ultimately came to the United States via the generosity and love of an adoptive parent, Gay Masters at the age of 7 1/2., Oksana was born with congenital disabilities as a direct cause of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl. Over time, ultimately in the United States, her mom had to make the tough choice to amputate her leg above the knee and Oksana had to choose when to amputate the other because her legs were not able to bear weight on them. Her first procedure was on her left leg at age 9 and her right leg at age 14. During her childhood, she also had reconstruction surgery on both hands three times due to birth defects and webbing in her hands.

At the age of 13, Oksana found sports and started with rowing where she joined the USA Rowing Paralympic team in 2011 going on to win a bronze medal at the 2012 London Games. In late winter of 2012, Oksana added Nordic skiing and biathlon along with adding a silver and bronze medal from the 2014 Sochi Games. In the summer of 2014, Oksana added hand cycling and earned a 4th and 6th place finish at the 2016 Rio Games. In 2018, Oksana's journey to Pyeongchang was unsure after dislocating her elbow two weeks before the Paralympics. She not only competed in six races taking home two gold, two silver, and a bronze; she represented the United States by carrying the flag in the closing ceremonies.

“To be irreplaceable, one must always be different.”
- CoCo Channel

Paralympic Highlights

2018 - Pyeongchang Paralympic Games - Nordic skiing and Biathlon: Two Gold Cross Country (1.1km and 5km); Two Silver Biathlon (6km and 12.5km); Bronze Cross Country (12km)
2016 - Rio Paralympic Games - Hand Cycling: 4th place (road race); 5th place (cycling - time trial)
2014 - Sochi Paralympic Winter Games - Nordic skiing: Silver Cross Country (12km); Bronze Cross Country (5km)
*2012 - London Paralympic Games - Rowing: Bronze (trunk and arms) Mixed Double Skulls

*Won the first ever United States medal in (trunk and arms) mixed double skulls.

World Championships Highlights

2017 - World Para Nordic Skiing Championships: Gold - cross-country sprint freestyle, middle distance freestyle and long distance classic and biathlon middle distance; Bronze - biathlon long distance
2015 - IPC Nordic Skiing World Championships: Silver - cross-country middle distance classic; Bronze - cross-country sprint
2015 - Cycling Road World Championships Bronze in Road Race, 4th in TT

World Cups Highlights

40 World Cup Podiums Nordics Skiing and Biathlon (26 Golds, 7 Silver, 7 Bronze)
2015/16/17 - IPC Overall World Cup Champion Cross-Country Skiing
2015 - Cycling 2 World Cup Podiums (2 Bronze)
2011 - Rowing World Cup Qualifier-Gold

Career Highlights

2014/15/16/17 - Team USA Awards Athlete of the Year Nominee - Paralympic
2014/15/16/17 - ESPYS Nominee, Best Female Athlete w/a disability
2014 - IPC Nordic Skiing, became first American female to win Gold in Nordic in Olympic and Paralympic history
2012 - ESPN the Magazine’s the BODY issue participant
2012 - U.S. Rowing’s Female Athlete of the Year

Social Media
Instagram - @oksanamasters- 61.3K
Facebook - @Oksana Masters - 13K
Twitter - @OksanaMasters- 4,468

CNN Sports - September 5, 2024

Oksana Masters: ‘Sports really taught me it was okay to take my legs off in front of people and to still be powerful’

She now has 19 Paralympic medals to her name across four Summer and Winter Games disciplines – more than most athletes could even dream of.

Yet Team USA athlete Oksana Masters says she still has “so many things” motivating her ahead of the Paralympic Games – including defending the two para-cycling gold medals that she earned in Tokyo. And on Thursday, she achieved just that, winning her second gold medal of the Paris Games in the H5 road race after defending her H4-5 time trial title on Wednesday.

Forbes - August 22, 2024

For Oksana Masters, Paris Paralympics Are ‘Not About The Medal Itself’

Multisport athlete Oksana Masters, the most decorated U.S. Winter Paralympian of all time, has amassed quite a collection of hardware in the Summer Paralympics as well.

Masters, who has won 17 Paralympic medals in all, specializes in para biathlon and cross-country skiing at the Winter Games and in para cycling in the Summer Games.

The Guardian - June 17, 2024

Abandoned, abused and belittled: how Oksana Masters survived a torturous childhood – and became a world-beating athlete

She was born in Ukraine in 1989, with a range of disabilities caused by radiation from the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster, and spent the first part of her childhood in an orphanage, enduring unimaginable emotional, physical and sexual abuse. When, as an eight-year-old, she was adopted by an American woman, it was finally the start of a happy family life – but it was also challenging to adapt to a new country. Masters underwent multiple operations, including having both her legs amputated.

NBC - September 3, 2024

How Paralympian Oksana Masters Found Purpose Through Hardship: "Don't Be Afraid"

Oksana Masters continues to defy expectations.

As arguably the greatest paralympic athlete in history, 34-year-old Oksana has proven across multiple sports that physical disabilities don’t define a person. Oksana has captured the hearts and inspired countless people worldwide — partly for her incredible athletic accomplishments but also because of what she’s gone through.

The story of Oksana Masters is almost too unbelievable to be true.