Oksana Masters Says Her Competitive Drive Is A Naturally ‘Healthy Outlet’

There are few athletes on the planet more inspiring than USA Paralympian Oksana Masters. The 33-year-old athlete was born outside Chernobyl, Ukraine and left in an orphanage at a very young age. She was eventually adopted at age 7 by an American mother, and was raised in Louisville, Kentucky.

To date, Masters has competed for the United States in five total Paralympic Games (two summer, three winter), making her debut in rowing at London 2012. There in the British capital, Masters snagged her first bronze medal, competing in the mixed double sculls competition at age 23. In all, Masters as won seven gold medals across three different sports, and is a 17-time medalist in all Paralympic competitions.

After an injury effectively ended her rowing career, Masters took up cross-country skiing for Team USA. Mastering the sport quickly, she ended up competing at Sochi 2014, Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022—winning at least two medals each time. Masters also won two gold at the Paralympic Games last summer in Tokyo as a para-cycling athlete. And she’s also won medals in the biathlon, a sport that combines Nordic skiing with shooting at a target, at the last two winter games.

The way Masters describes it, she took up “almost every sport and outdoor activity I could” before age 10—and says staying active was just second nature. Even as a sports polymath, she admits that being a multiple-sport athlete at the highest level wasn’t something she expected to do.

“As soon as I took up rowing, I fell in love with it. But becoming a multi-sports athlete—I just fell into that,” Masters said during our Zoom interview last Wednesday. “After London, I was just getting started in rowing, but unfortunately at the World Championships in 2013, I injured my back from rowing.”

Masters said that the mere thought of ending competitive pursuits did not sit well.

“I think it’s one of those things. The end of my career wasn’t something I was ready to accept,” she said. “Though rowing was done for me, I had an opportunity to attend the Hartford Ski Spectacular to focus on skiing. And that was it. I was hooked.”

After moving full-time into ski competitions, Masters said she was also encouraged by coaches and fellow athletes to try para-cycling, which in turn, she says, “really showed me how to race and (how to) apply that speed to skiing.”

Now six months after winning three more Paralympic gold and seven silver medals at Beijing 2022, it’s not much of a surprise to those who know her that Masters would be encouraging the next wave of athletes.

Last week she teamed up with The Hartford, sponsor and organizer of the Hartford Ski Spectacular and its own Adaptive Sports program. As one of the program’s tipped ambassadors, Masters got to surprise two athletes with new skis and other custom equipment, that will help them train and compete.

VIDEO: Two sports Oksana Masters “fell in love with.”

“The Hartford Ski Spectacular is where I got my start as a skier newbie, not knowing anything,” Masters said. “It’s important for me and very close to my heart to help other athletes move forward by making sure they have that equipment. And to help those individuals realize their potential through sport.”

This year’s Hartford Ski Spectacular took place from December 4-10. Overall 13 para-athletes were gifted their own new custom gear as a part of Hartford’s effort, in conjunction with Move United, an organization that plans sports events for winter sportspeople with disabilities.

That competitive drive

But where did Masters get her drive to excel at multiple sports and constant try new things? She said that inclination came early in life.

“Being competitive was, for me, something that started even before I took up sports,” Masters said. “It was, to be honest, sort of a survival skill in the orphanages. But applying that to the sports and games I played was always a healthy outlet for me, in everything I did.”

Masters also said that her fiancé and fellow Paralympian Aaron Pike not only further stokes her competitive spirit, but that he also “balances” her out.

“He’s definitely the yin to my yang. He’s fun, but definitely competitive too.”

Pike, 36, who also does biathlon and cross-country skiing, has competed at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics and the 2014, 2018, and 2022 Winter Paralympics. Pike is also known for his wheelchair marathoning efforts, in which he won a bronze medal the last two Chicago Marathons, while also grabbing the silver medal at this year’s Boston Marathon.

“Aaron’s good at anything that involves patience. Cooking and skill type of things, but also-oriented ball sports too,” Masters said of Pike. “Honestly, he is a solid foundation. For someone like me, I think I need that.”

Speaking of patience, it’s something that Masters said she has slowly added to her repertoire. While the Nordic skiing portion of the event is a natural fit for her, the second part of the biathlon event—using a laser rifle to shoot targets at different ranges—is something she says, requires a different mindset.

“I’ve also learned so much from Aaron (about the biathlon) since he is the embodiment of the true and perfect biathlete, which is (being) calm, steady and precise,” Masters said. “I’m more of the Tasmanian Devil, and that’s why Beijing was such a challenge. I’m not an athlete that is as naturally calm and steady.”

Putting such “challenges” aside, Masters still excels at biathlon. Overall she’s won five Paralympic medals in Women’s para biathlon competitions, including two Paralympic gold earlier this year in Beijing.

As Masters gears up for Paris 2024, she said that matter the outcome, she doesn’t see herself ever giving sports. She adds that she takes some influence from other Paralympic athletes like Melissa Stockwell, who have moved from sport to sport while also taking up other pursuits such as the Ironman.

“I’m an athlete at heart. Recently I did get a pair of running legs, and my goal with that is to start running 5Ks and doing things more for the fun of it.”