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female Nordic skier Oksana Masters competess on the snow

Oksana Masters

Nordic Skiing | Cycling | Rowing
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Oksana Masters is just returning to competition after an injury that jeopardised her participation at PyeongChang 2018. The US Nordic skier prefers to take it slowly, which is why she decided not to take part in all events at the 2018-19 World Cup circuit.

Masters still managed to win three golds, three silvers and one bronze.

Only weeks before the Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, she dislocated her elbow and thought all her hard work would be for nothing.

With the support of her team and closest people, she recovered just in time to compete in South Korea. Despite feeling constant pain, Masters won double gold in the women’s cross-country middle distance and sprint sitting.

She followed that up with silver in the biathlon sprint and long distance, and bronze in the cross-country long distance.

In 2017, an impressive performance saw her power to the top of the podium four times at the World Championships in Finsterau, Germany - and a sweep of the cross-country events.

It also included a gold in biathlon, something which Masters herself said she could not quite believe having previously struggled with shooting. A win of the cross-country World Cup rounded off an excellent season in addition to a top three finish in biathlon.

Originally from Ukraine, Masters’ well-documented life story includes being exposed to radiation from the infamous Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion and being sent to live in an orphanage after being born with limb impairments.

Masters started rowing when she was 14 years old after being adopted by a US woman. Soon after her bronze medal-winning performance at London 2012 with rowing partner Rob Jones, which propelled her to national fame and an appearance in ESPN’s The Body Issue, Masters decided a change of sport was needed and set about learning Nordic skiing.

In 2013, she was named to the US Paralympics Nordic Skiing Development Team.

After an incredibly successful first season on the World Cup circuit in 2013-14, finishing as world No.6, Masters got her ticket to Sochi 2014.

She went on to beat the likes of world No.1 Andrea Eskau of Germany and world No.2 - Norway’s Mariann Marthinsen - to claim silver in the cross-country long distance.

She also won bronze in the cross-country middle distance.

To round-off a whirlwind couple of seasons, Masters got the chance to compete at home at the 2015 World Championships, where she won a silver and bronze medal in cross-country events.

Results

Unit Date Rank
London 2012 Paralympic Games (London, Great Britain)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Mixed Double Sculls TA Heat 2 2012-08-31 2
Mixed Double Sculls TA Heat 2 2012-09-01 1
Mixed Double Sculls TA Final A 2012-09-02 3
Paralympic Winter Games 2014 (Sochi, Russia)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 6 km Sitting Final Round 2014-03-08 4
Women's 12 km Sitting Final Round 2014-03-09 2
Women's 10 km Sitting Final Round 2014-03-11 8
Women's 1 km Sprint Sitting Final Round 2014-03-12 4
Women's 5 km Sitting Final Round 2014-03-16 3
2015 IPC Nordic Skiing World Championships Cable (Cable, United States of America)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's Short Distance Sitting Race 1 2015-01-24 8
Women's Long Distance - Free Style Sitting Race 1 2015-01-25 4
Women's Middle Distance Sitting Race 1 2015-01-27 9
Women's Sprint - Classic Sitting Race 1 2015-01-28 3
Women's Middle Distance - Classic Sitting Race 1 2015-01-31 2
Mixed Relay Final 2015-02-01 7
Rio 2016 Paralympic Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's Time Trial H4-5 Final Round 2016-09-14 5
Women's Road Race H5 Final Round 2016-09-15 4
2017 IPC Nordic skiing World Championships Finsterau, GER (Finsterau, Germany)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's Middle Distance Sitting Final 2017-02-11 4
Women's Sprint - Free Style Sitting Final 2017-02-12 1
Women's Long Distance Sitting Final 2017-02-14 3
Women's Long Distance - Classic Sitting Final 2017-02-16 1
Women's Sprint Sitting Final 2017-02-18 1
Women's Middle Distance - Free Style Sitting Final 2017-02-19 1
Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games (Pyeongchang, South Korea)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 6km Sitting Final 2018-03-10 2
Women's 12km Sitting Final 2018-03-11 3
Women's 10km Sitting Final 2018-03-13 9999
Women's 1.1km Sprint Sitting Final 2018-03-14 1
Women's 12.5km Sitting Final 2018-03-16 2
Women's 5km Sitting Final 2018-03-17 1
Prince George 2019 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships (Prince George, Canada)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's Middle Distance Sitting Final 2019-02-16 1
Women's Middle Distance - Free Style Sitting Final 2019-02-17 1
Women's Sprint - Free Style Sitting Final 2019-02-18 1
Women's Sprint Sitting Final 2019-02-20 1
Women's Long Distance Sitting Final 2019-02-21 2
Women's Long Distance - Classic Sitting Final 2019-02-24 1
Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games (Tokyo, Japan)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's Time Trial H4-5 Final Round 2021-08-31 1
Women's Road Race H5 Final Round 2021-09-01 1
Lillehammer 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships (Lillehammer, Norway)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's Sprint Sitting Final 2022-01-15 2
Women's Middle Distance Sitting Final 2022-01-16 3
Women's Long Distance - Free Style Sitting Final 2022-01-18 1
Women's Long Distance Sitting Final 2022-01-20 3
Women's Sprint - Classic Sitting Final 2022-01-22 1
Mixed Relay Final 2022-01-23 4
Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games (Beijing, China)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's Sprint Sitting Final 2022-03-05 1
Women's Long Distance Sitting Final 2022-03-06 2
Women's Middle Distance Sitting Final 2022-03-08 2
Women's Sprint Sitting Final 2022-03-09 2
Women's Sprint Sitting Semifinal 1 2022-03-09 1
Women's Sprint Sitting Qualification 2022-03-09 1
Women's Individual Sitting Final Round 2022-03-11 1
Women's Middle Distance Sitting Final 2022-03-12 2
Mixed 4x2.5km Relay Final 2022-03-13 1