Oksana Masters had terrible deformities in both of her hands when she was born. What had happened to her?
Oksana Masters is a multi-sport Paralympic athlete who resides in the United States.
She competed in the 2014 Winter Paralympics and the 2018 Winter Paralympics, representing the United States. Oksana won two Paralympic medals in 2014 and five in 2018, including two gold medals.
Paralympic Oksana Masters Hands: What Disability Does She Have?
Oksana Masters was born three years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1989. She was born with several congenital abnormalities caused by radiation.
She was born with tibial hemimelia, a disorder in which a child’s shinbone is either shorter than normal or absent entirely.
Masters also had crocheted fingers but no thumbs, and each foot had six toes.
Oksana’s impairment is H5, which means she is a hand cyclist with a leg disability.
Her biological parents abandoned her at a Ukrainian orphanage, where she resided until she was seven years old.
Later, Oksana was adopted by Gay Masters, an unmarried American speech therapy professor with no biological children, when she was seven years old.
Both of her legs were amputated above the knee after she moved to the United States in 1997. It was amputated since it was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and unable to support her weight.
Masters also had surgery to change the function of her innermost fingers on both hands to be used as thumbs.
Oksana Masters Story On Twitter
Oksana Masters is currently leading the 2022 Winter Paralympics.
In the 6 km seated biathlon, she earned her first Paralympic gold medal and a gold in the Women’s Long Distance Vision Impaired event (Classic).
Oksana has been tweeting about her achievements at the 2022 Paralympic Games.
She also received two silver medals in the Women’s Sprint Vision Impaired (Free) and Women’s Middle Distance Vision Impaired events.
Oksana’s account is @OksanaMasters, and she has 6.4K followers on this platform.
Where Is Oksana Masters From?
Oksana Masters was born in the Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi. She grew up in the Soviet Union when Ukraine was a part of it.
Masters started adaptive rowing at the age of 13 in 2002, just before her right leg was amputated. She continued after that and entered competitive adapted rowing.
In preparation for the 2012 London Paralympic Games, Masters hooked up with Rob Jones, a US Marine Corps veteran who lost both legs in an IED blast in Afghanistan.
Oksana and Rob went on to win the Adaptive World Championships Trials as well as the Final Paralympic Qualification Regatta by large margins.