‘Tears Rolling Down My Eyes’: Paralympic Legend Oksana Masters Admits Ukraine Conflict Made Beijing Winter Paralympics 2022 Tough for Her

American Oksana Masters, who is of Ukrainian descent, is inarguably one of the greatest Paralympians of all time. She is a multi-sport Paralympic athlete who has seventeen Olympic medals to her name.

In fact, Masters even won seven medals at seven events at the Beijing Winter Paralympics 2022. Moreover, her fourteen total Paralympic Winter games medals are the most by any US athlete ever.

However, owing to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Masters admitted to not feeling good at all during the last Winter Games. She shared the emotional toll it took for her to get herself through the 2022 Winter Paralympics.

Oksana Masters describes her grueling experience at the Beijing Paralympics

Paralympian legend Oksana Masters expressed that the Beijing Winter Paralympics 2022 was “one of the most challenging Games”. Despite claiming seven medals at the games, the war in Ukraine weighed heavily on the 32-year-old.

Even though Oksana is an American and represents the USA on every sporting platform, Ukraine is her home country. When the Russian Federation launched war on Ukraine, the IOC and IPC banned all Russian and Belarusian athletes.

However, while Oksana competed at the Games, she felt guilty and selfish for being in Beijing. She had written a deeply moving post on Instagram, sharing her pride in being Ukrainian.

Talking to Inside The Games, Masters shared how she “barely slept throughout Beijing because of what was happening”. “There was just tears rolling down my eyes,” she expressed.

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Moreover, her sadness made her realize “how much an emotional toll could take on your physical feeling too, as an athlete”. Thus, she stated how the Beijing Paralympics this year “was one of the most challenging Games for that reason”.

Masters shares how the world can help in different ways

Masters went on to share how Ukrainian people gratefully receive every piece of help and support the world gives them. “We can help in so many different ways, and be a part of uniting and rebuilding,” she said.

She stated how despite being in the middle of sports, the athletic community came forward with small gestures of support that meant a lot. “We can still be present and bring awareness to what is going on, and inspire help and change,” Oksana expressed.

In fact, she even wished that more people would realize that monetary donations are not the only way to help. “There’s so many different ways you can show your solidarity with Ukraine,” she continued.

As someone who took birth in Ukraine, Masters remains emotionally connected to her homeland, and seeing the world come together in support of her country in times of distress really moved her.

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