Oksana Masters, the most decorated American Winter Paralympian, surprised even herself by adding a 20th Paralympic medal to her overall tally at Milan Cortina on Saturday.
After overcoming a series of adversities that hindered her preparations in the leadup to the Games, Masters came through with victory in the women’s sprint sitting discipline in Para biathlon, finishing ahead of fellow American Kendall Gretsch.
“Oh my gosh, my emotions are just pure shock. I did not expect this. All I was hoping was just to have a good time in the shooting range,” she said. “I did not expect a podium finish to be honest, let alone a gold.”
It was her sixth Winter Paralympic gold medal to go along with her four victories at the Summer Paralympics. She has competed in every Paralympics since 2012, earning medals in Para cross-country and Para biathlon in the winter and Para cycling and Para rowing in the summer.
Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP
Masters was coming off a difficult season that included surgery, a bone infection and a concussion.
“I’m starting to realize that’s who I am. I have to have adversity going into the Games, although I don’t like it,” she said. “The summer started out with surgery and then the last three weeks have been just absolutely a lot of time away from training, with infection and with a concussion, and battling, and just trusting the process and waiting. This is why this just means so much more, I did not expect this.”
She thanked her “incredible team” to help her bounce back and triumph again.
“I’m the athlete that crosses the finish line, but we have an entire team with our coaches that are cheering with us, and our skis and our wax team,” she said.
Masters now has won 15 medals in the Winter Games and five medals in the Summer Games. She became the first American to win seven medals — in seven events — at a single Paralympics in Beijing 2022.
Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP 
The 36-year-old Masters was born in Ukraine with birth defects believed to be related to the Chernobyl nuclear accident. She had to go through orphanages at an early age in Ukraine before being adopted by an American father. She had her left leg amputated at age 9, and her right leg amputated at age 14.
“For me, I have a very strong ‘why’, where every single stroke for me counts,” she said. “It’s for every Paralympian, every athlete with a disability that was overlooked and was told they were never going to be enough and didn’t belong. That helps me overcome those adversities.”
