Team USA’s Oksana Masters, a four-sport athlete and Kentucky native, claimed biathlon gold in the women’s 6km sitting sprint. She defeated the event’s defending gold medalist, Team USA’s Kendall Gretsch and the reigning world champion, Germany’s Anja Wicker. This is Masters’ first Paralympic title in biathlon and Team USA’s first gold medal of the 2022 Winter Games.
Twenty-year-old Shan Yilin secured silver for China and Team USA’s Gretsch secured bronze. Masters and Gretsch were considered favorites of the gold medal going into the Games and they did not disappoint.
Merely six months after clinching two gold medals in the Tokyo Games, Masters celebrated yet another gold for Team USA.
“I use sports for me to be able to tell my story and just to show what the human spirit and what the body can do, regardless of every single adversity and setback that’s set in front of you,” said Masters. “Just to keep pushing through it.”
Masters is the 2019 world champion and this marks her fifth career Paralympic gold. This also marks her 11th medal after clinching five in Pyeongchang, two in Sochi in Nordic skiing, a bronze in London in rowing and two golds in cycling at the Tokyo Summer Games.