Paralympic torchbearer Oksana Masters claimed her first medal of the 2024 Paris Games on Wednesday, defending her gold in the women’s cycling H4-5 time trial. The 35-year-old American secured her spot at the top of the podium after a remarkable comeback during the second half of the race. At the midway point, Masters trailed by 30 seconds but surged ahead to finish with a time of 23:45.20, clinching her eighth Paralympic gold medal.

Chantal Haenen of the Netherlands took silver with a time of 23:51.44, while China’s Sun Bianbian secured the bronze, finishing at 25:13.07.

Masters was born in Ukraine in 1989 with congenital disabilities caused by radiation exposure from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Her deformities included the absence of weight-bearing bones in her legs, a sixth toe on each foot, and webbed fingers without thumbs. She was also missing part of her stomach, her right biceps, and one kidney. She was put up for adoption at birth and spent a traumatic childhood in an orphanage. At age seven, she was adopted from an orphanage by an American mother and raised in Louisville, Kentucky.

A back injury ended her rowing career, but she soon found a passion for the slopes, competing in para Nordic skiing at the Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018, and Beijing 2022 Games, amassing seven medals, including two golds. Masters made her Paralympic paracycling debut at the Rio 2016 Games, narrowly missing out on a medal, but in Tokyo, she made up for it by winning two gold medals in the hand-cycling time trial and road race.

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Paralympic superstar Oksana Masters wins 8th Paralympic gold, her 18th medal overall

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