Winter Paralympics star revealed birth defects were linked to Chernobyl disaster Oksana Masters, a decorated Paralympic athlete, has shared how her severe birth defects were likely caused by radiation exposure from the Chernobyl disaster. The 36-year-old, who has won 22 Paralympic medals, was born with multiple physical abnormalities, including six toes, missing bones in her legs, webbed hands, and the absence of a kidney and right bicep. Her condition, which she described as “not normal” until she moved to the United States, was later attributed to her mother’s proximity to the Chernobyl nuclear site. Masters was raised in a Ukrainian orphanage after being abandoned at birth. She was adopted by a professor in New York and eventually moved to the U.S., where doctors connected her medical issues to radiation exposure. “They linked it to Chernobyl because I was really not that far from there, and the fact that radiation levels continued to rise years after the explosion,” she explained. She recalled that the orphanage’s village had a nearby power plant, and during high radiation periods, a police officer would warn residents to stay indoors. Her early life was marked by medical interventions. At age nine, she underwent surgery to remove her impaired left leg, becoming a double amputee by 10. She later had multiple surgeries on her hands, which were described as webbed with no thumbs. Despite these challenges, Masters found a path in sports. She began adaptive rowing at 16 and won her first Paralympic medal, a bronze, in 2012. She later transitioned to cross-country skiing, earning medals in Sochi and PyeongChang, and expanded her career to include biathlon and cycling. Masters’ achievements have made her Team USA’s most decorated disabled athlete. In 2022, she won her first Paralympic gold in biathlon in Beijing.#ukraine #new_york #oksana_masters #chernobyl_disaster #paralympics
