A US skier born with defects due to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster who spent her early life in orphanages yesterday said she was “on cloud nine” after winning Winter Paralympic gold.
Oksana Masters was born in 1989 in what is now Ukraine, three years after a reactor exploded at the Chernobyl plant, sparking the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
At birth she had six toes on each foot, five webbed fingers on each hand and no thumbs, and her left leg was 15cm shorter than her right.
She lived in three different orphanages until the age of seven, when she was adopted by a woman in the US.
Due to the severity of her birth defects, doctors decided to amputate both of her legs, and she had multiple rounds of reconstructive surgery on her hands.
However, Masters was determined to get involved in sports. As well as skiing, she also competes in rowing, biathlon and cycling.
She yesterday won her first Paralympic gold in 1.1km cross-country sprint skiing at the Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics.
“I feel like I’m cloud nine right now. I’ve been chasing this gold medal for such a long time,” the 28-year-old said. “This is the most amazing medal of my career.”
Athletes with leg impairments compete in specially adapted sleds in Paralympic skiing events.
Masters had already won a silver in biathlon and a bronze in long-distance cross-country skiing at the Pyeongchang Paralympics. She also won silver and bronze medals at the 2014 Sochi Paralympics, and a bronze in rowing at the London 2012 Summer Paralympics.
Masters said she believes the dark days of her childhood helped her become a champion.
“I am so happy I have been able to channel all the things that I went through when I was younger and make them into something positive,” she said.
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