Paralympics: Multi-sport athlete wins two gold medals, putting herself in rare company

Tokyo, Japan - Another Paralympian has etched her name into sports history after winning two gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Oksana Masters is now the sixth American and fourth woman to win gold in both the summer and winter Paralympic games after winning her two cycling races earlier this week.
Oksana Masters is now the sixth American and fourth woman to win gold in both the summer and winter Paralympic games after winning her two cycling races earlier this week.  © IMAGO / PA Images

Oksana Masters (32) won the women’s H5 cycling road race on Wednesday for her second gold medal in Tokyo. Her first gold was won just a day earlier, in the women’s H4-5 time trial event.

She finished with a winning time of 2:23:39, a whopping 3 minutes and 11 seconds ahead of China’s Sun Bianbian (2:26:50), who won the silver medal, and Italy’s Katia Aere (2:28:11), who won the bronze.

She is the sixth American to win gold in both the summer and winter Paralympic Games, and the fourth woman to accomplish the feat. Three days ago, her teammate Kendall Gretsch became the fifth American to become a dual-season Paralympic champion.

Beginning her Paralympic career at the 2012 London Games, Masters has taken her namesake quite literally, earning 10 medals across Nordic skiing, rowing, and cycling. She most recently won her first two career golds in para cross-country skiing at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games.

She’s also looking forward to competing at the Beijing Winter Games next year, as well as cycling again at the 2024 Paris Games and the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

"A home Games would be a dream come true," she said, speaking of the Los Angeles Games to TeamUSA.org.

Masters has a chance at a third gold medal in the relay race set to take place on Thursday.

Cover photo: IMAGO / SNA

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