Oksana Masters: Multi-sport Paralympic powerhouse ready for redemption at Tokyo 2020
Here is everything you need to watch eight-time U.S. Paralympic medallist Oksana Masters compete at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in 2021 in ‘operation take down unfinished business.’
Cycling Road
Multi-sport Paralympian Oksana Masters is ready and raring for Tokyo 2020.
The versatile para-athlete from the United States has competed in a total of four Paralympic Games, both Winter and Summer, scooping up eight medals in her wake.
At London 2012, Masters won the U.S. its first ever Paralympic medal in rowing’s trunk and arms mixed double sculls.
Then at Sochi 2014 and, later PyeongChang 2018, the 32-year-old competed in Nordic skiing and cross country skiing, earning her seven medals including two golds.
When a persistent back injury prevented her from continuing in rowing, the Paralympian turned to hand cycling to help her fitness. She found herself falling in love with the challenge; enjoying speeds she couldn’t reach in other sports.
Pushing herself out of her comfort zone, Masters decided to compete in the hand-cycling events at Rio 2016, and when she finished just shy of the podium (fourth in the road race and fifth in the time trial) the American knew she had to go again.
Now at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics in 2021, Masters is ready to give it her all on the Fuji International Speedway.
For the key things you need to know about Oskana Masters, when she will be competing, and how to watch her at Tokyo 2020, keep reading.
1- Oksana Masters was adopted from Ukraine
Oksana Masters was born in 1989 in Ukraine with several birth defects, including tibial hemimelia, caused by in-utero radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear reactor incident that had occurred three years prior.
As a baby, she was given up for adoption and went on to live in three different orphanages until aged seven, she was adopted by Gay Masters, an American woman from New York.
After moving to the U.S., Masters required several surgeries, including having both her legs amputated, and multiple reconstructive procedures on her hands.
Aged 13, she moved from Buffalo, New York to Louisville, Kentucky where her passion for competition was discovered.
2- Finding release on the water
It was in Middle School that Masters first learnt about her local adaptive rowing club.
Initially, she resisted it, struggling to come to terms with the notion that it was adaptive.
But the pull of sport and all its possibilities eventually drew her in and at the insistence of her mother, she gave rowing a go.
“The minute I got in the water and pushed away from the dock it was like a feeling that I got, where it was just the right place at the right time,” the Paralympian explained to The Guardian.
“I loved the pulling of the oars and the release that I got… I wanted to go as hard as I could, of course.”
Just as she got into the sport, Masters needed a second leg amputation. Complications from the surgery saw her spend a total of five months in hospital.
The entire time she waited in recovery, all she could think about was getting back in the boat.
What started out as a bit of fun soon translated into something competitive and it was then Masters was introduced to the Paralympics – something she had never heard about before.
In 2011 she found her rowing partner, Rob Jones, a retired U.S. marine who was wounded in action while on duty in Afghanistan and became a bilateral, above-knee amputee in July 2010.
It wasn’t long before the two found themselves together in a boat competing at London 2012. They took home America’s first medal in the event, a bronze, and it was in that moment that the American truly felt like she belonged.
3 – From rowing in the Summer Games to skiing in the Winter Games
Masters career in rowing ended when she broke part of her back.
At the time she was devastated, but something else now awaited her.
At a rowing event she was invited to try skiing, and having always loved snow, she signed up.
The transition from adaptive rowing to skiing was fairly seamless for the the Paralympian; both sports require the use of the same muscle groups.
In just 14 months, Masters found herself qualifying for Team USA’s Winter Paralympic roster for Sochi 2014, and just like she did in her rowing debut, Masters was muscling in on the medals.
She brought back to the U.S. a bronze and silver medal from Russia.
Four years later, Masters won two golds in para-cross country skiing at PyeongChang 2018.
4- Oksana Masters and Aaron Pike: the Paralympic power couple
The Paralympic Games are about uniting the world together in spectacle and sport; this is also true for the athletes.
Masters met her partner, Aaron Pike, while the two prepared for Sochi 2014 at training camp.
Like his girlfriend, Pike also turned to Nordic skiing after first competing in a summer sport - in his case wheelchair track and field.
While both are elite para-athletes competing at the highest level and managing hectic schedules, they believe the secret to the success of their relationship is that they share so much in common.
Speaking in an interview with Elite Daily before PyeongChang 2018 Pike explained:
"I don’t think too many people get to say that they’ve walked in together, representing their country at the Opening Ceremony."
"You look over, and there’s your significant other, standing right there experiencing the exact same thing [as you]. That’s a pretty cool, unique thing."
5 – Last minute surgery threatened to derail Oksana Masters' Tokyo 2020
Tokyo 2020 was almost not meant to be for Oksana Masters.
With just 100 days to go before the Games in 2021, the eight-time Paralympic medallist revealed on social media that she had undergone surgery on one of her legs.
It was a procedure that was very much unexpected, and left the American unsure of whether she would qualify for the para-cycling competition; one in which she was desperate to improve after falling short of the podium in Rio 2016.
“The surgery that I had was pretty big,” Masters shared with Courier Journal.
“It takes a while to get back into my prosthetic… But the crazy thing is that I was not expecting to necessarily be able to qualify for Tokyo.”
The Paralympian was only cleared to get back on her bike one day before she was set to compete in the U.S. trials.
A series of final-minute adjustments were required in order to allow for the incisions left by the surgery.
Negotiating all the changes and training limitations was tough, but fortunately for Masters she made it, and now at Tokyo 2020 she will get her shot to improve on her last Paralympic outing in Brazil.
“I call it ‘operation take down unfinished business,’” the American continued.
“My expectations are to hopefully end up somewhere near the podium and bring home a medal for Team USA.”
Oksana Masters’ Competition Schedule at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics
Oksana Masters will be competing in two para-cycling events at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Below are the dates, and times:
- Women’s H4-5 Time Trial, Tuesday August 31 at 8:00 JST
- Women’s H5 Road Race, Wednesday September 1 at 12:15 JST