Oksana Masters, a versatile athlete from the United States, has secured another gold medal at the Paralympic Games by successfully defending her title in the H4-5 individual time trial event in para cycling. During the event, Masters completed the course in 23 minutes and 45.20 seconds, surpassing Chantal Haenen from the Netherlands by 6.24 seconds and leaving Sun Bianbian from China trailing by a significant 1 minute and 27.87 seconds. This victory adds to Masters’ exceptional collection of eight gold medals and a total of 18 medals across both the summer and winter Games.
Masters is also scheduled to participate in the H5 road race where she is the defending champion, set to take place on Thursday. Moreover, she will conclude her Paris Games journey by competing in the mixed H1-5 team relay on Saturday.
Born in 1989 near Chernobyl in Ukraine, the site of the catastrophic nuclear accident, Masters has faced challenges from birth defects believed to be linked to the aftermath of the disaster. Adopted by an American mother during her childhood, Masters underwent amputation of her left leg near the knee at the age of 9, followed by the amputation of her right leg at the same spot five years later.