“I absolutely fell in love with being on the water and the peace and freedom that you get being on the water in a single boat.”
― Oksana Masters
“I was missing the main weight-bearing bone in both legs. And the left leg, I didn’t have a full knee. It was a floating knee. I had six toes. My hands were webbed, and I also have one kidney. I don’t have a full bicep on my right side. Thank God my hair didn’t get ruined.”
― Oksana Masters
“I’m stubborn; once I start something, I want to see how far I can go.”
― Oksana Masters
“Just keep moving forward.”
― Oksana Masters
“When you’re using your upper body to live, you get to know how to move every muscle.”
― Oksana Masters
“I’m a coffee lover.”
― Oksana Masters
“It’s extremely important for my sit ski to be perfectly fit to me. If it’s too big, and I shift around, the energy and strength I put into propelling myself forward will be lost. The right fit is everything in my sport.”
― Oksana Masters
“I am so proud to be Ukrainian, and I’m also so proud to be an American.”
― Oksana Masters
“My mom literally saved my life. I wasn’t supposed to make it out of the orphanage.”
― Oksana Masters
“When I ski, I take both of my legs off and get into a sit ski: a ski with a custom seat that has been molded for me. I use my core and arms to propel myself on snow with help from ski poles.”
― Oksana Masters
“The biggest challenge during competition is keeping my real legs warm with clothing, because I have poor circulation in the tissue around the amputated areas.”
― Oksana Masters
“I wear my prosthetics legs every day, and when I train in the gym, I call them my Lamborghini, because both legs and sockets, which extend up to my hips to keep the legs on via a suction seal, cost about $305,815.”
― Oksana Masters
“With cycling, I can still be active and compete, and ultimately, that’s what I love to do, to be competitive.”
― Oksana Masters
“Time trialing is one of those things that you’ve got to train for… Being a new rider, it’s still really hard for me to know what’s the most efficient gear for me to be in. The road race is probably more exciting, in my opinion, because it’s a lot faster pace, and people are constantly attacking.”
― Oksana Masters
“I started doing sports when I was 13 and competitively doing sports – where I was actually training – when I was 17.”
― Oksana Masters
“I never thought I’d be able to go back to Ukraine.”
― Oksana Masters
“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.”
― Oksana Masters
“I like to keep my hair and makeup routines easy and simple on race days.”
― Oksana Masters
“I’m chasing that gold medal.”
― Oksana Masters
“Every single race that I get on the podium in biathlon, I’m shocked.”
― Oksana Masters
“I think it is very unfortunate that there is a ban on adoptions in Russia.”
― Oksana Masters
“I was supposed to be adopted when I was five, but then my adoption was pushed back by two years.”
― Oksana Masters
“That’s what I’m focused on, having that perfect race.”
― Oksana Masters
“I don’t know why, but I love sunflowers, and I just have this vivid memory of being in a field of sunflowers and how they felt like trees. They felt so tall.”
― Oksana Masters
“I could use a little more body, but I’m happy with it.”
― Oksana Masters
“It’s weird to not know what a family is. Not know what a mother’s love is. And not really know what a hug is or anything.”
― Oksana Masters
“I remember seeing the Olympics when I was 13. I always wanted to know how it felt to stand on top of the podium hearing your country’s anthem while watching your flag being raised in something you poured your heart and soul into.”
― Oksana Masters
“I never in a million years thought I would be able to be a Paralympic athlete.”
― Oksana Masters
“I didn’t find out about the Paralympics until I was 18 years old. Once I found out what the Paralympics were, I was so excited to know I had a chance to represent my country and wear Team U.S.A. on my back.”
― Oksana Masters
“In 2013, I had the chance to try cross-country skiing on snow and just fell in love with being in nature and how hard it was to pick up the sport. And the snow is sparkly.”
― Oksana Masters
“The realization that I’m never going to run again, the feeling through my hair when you run… you’re still a kid. You still have so much life to live.”
― Oksana Masters
“The mind is really powerful.”
― Oksana Masters
“I’ve gotten a lot of people saying. ‘That is awesome. You’re so brave.’ I hate when people say brave. I’m not brave. I’m just living my life. Why is that brave?”
― Oksana Masters
“You don’t get any second chances.”
― Oksana Masters
“I’m just stupid and too headstrong.”
― Oksana Masters
“It’s insane going from skiing to cycling. Even though you are in prime shape, you feel like you have never worked out a day in your life.”
― Oksana Masters
“I can go days without eating if I don’t think about food. Your mind, to protect itself, learns not to pay attention to that hunger feeling.”
― Oksana Masters
“Growing up in a very poor orphanage in Ukraine, there wasn’t much food.”
― Oksana Masters
“I was born with legs, but they were so deformed.”
― Oksana Masters
“Cycling’s primarily a pushing motion, and skiing is more pulling, so it kind of balances out the body.”
― Oksana Masters
“My hair is super fine, so I love using Batiste Dry Shampoo to give it volume after I shower and dry my hair. It also gives me extra body and texture for when I choose to wear my hair in a French braid.”
― Oksana Masters
“I use Olay Total Effects Tone Correcting CC Cream in place of foundation post-workout. I absolutely love that it’s quick, easy, and something I can use on the go. It evens out my skin tone, provides SPF 15 protection, and leaves my skin feeling breathable, healthy, and moisturized.”
― Oksana Masters
“I usually like to keep my hair and makeup routines pretty simple after I work out but always need a little bit of mascara to finish off the look. I just swipe some on and then am good to go for the rest of the day.”
― Oksana Masters
“I am very lucky to be living my dream.”
― Oksana Masters
“Sport has definitely been an outlet for me.”
― Oksana Masters
“Sports were a way for me to get comfortable with my body. I learned to appreciate everything I could still do.”
― Oksana Masters
“In 2012, I was invited to a ski event called the Hartford Ski Spectacular to learn how to sit-ski for the first time. I loved it, but it was not pretty – I was not good. I didn’t know how to stop, so I kept throwing myself on the ground.”
― Oksana Masters
“It’s hard to understand the athlete’s lifestyle. You literally eat, sleep, train. You go to training camps in the winter where there is no Internet, you can’t make phone calls.”
― Oksana Masters
“I’m a person that, once I start something, I can’t just quit it.”
― Oksana Masters
“It doesn’t matter what kind of body you have, it’s the determination and the spirit that’s going to get you there. I want to prove that.”
― Oksana Masters
“They said if I stayed in the orphanage for another month or so, I basically would not have been able to be alive.”
― Oksana Masters
“I was a super active kid, so I’ve always been aware of where my body is in space, and I think when I had my legs amputated, it makes you more aware of your body, and because I don’t use my legs, I use more of my hands.”
― Oksana Masters
“I definitely went through a period where I don’t want to say I hated myself, but I hated what I saw in the mirror. I would try to cover it up, and it wasn’t until I started doing sports – until after London 2012 – that I kind of started getting more of that confidence in my body and appreciating my body.”
― Oksana Masters
“I definitely did not like my body when I first started sports. I didn’t like my body just in general as a teenager. Being a girl and a teenager with two prosthetic legs and two hands that were misshapen that had so much reconstructive surgery on them, I thought my world was over – put a zit on top of that, and then my life is completely over.”
― Oksana Masters
“It was honestly like ‘Annie.’ One day I was alone in a cold, dark Eastern European orphanage, and then the next day I was in an enchanted, mystical land known as Walmart.”
― Oksana Masters
“When I first had my legs amputated, it was hard for me to be positive and feel pretty. Many people don’t know that someone with a disability can be strong and beautiful and successful as an athlete.”
― Oksana Masters
“I was a troublemaker.”
― Oksana Masters
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