The American Oksana Masters, one of the stars of Paralympic sports, won his third title since the beginning of the Milano Cortina Paralympic Games by winning the test 10 km sitting cross-country skiingthis Wednesday in Tesero.
And it was not the only image of the day at the Parlympic event in this middle distance test. We have also seen the suffering of the Frenchman Karls Tabouret to become the new champion in the standing modality.
“🥇Agonizing finale for 🇫🇷 Karl Tabouret to win gold in the 10km interval cross-country skiing final
The Frenchman had to receive help when he reached the finish line because he couldn’t take it anymore, what a clear image of the effort that this medium-distance test entails.#Paralympics pic.twitter.com/U6f3KYTGrm“
— Teledeporte (@teledeporte) March 11, 2026
The Frenchman had to be helped after crossing the finish line because he couldn’t even move due to the great effort made to reach the top and take over from the Chinese. Chenyang Wang, who this time entered ninth.
The Asian athlete won gold four years ago at the Beijing Olympics. He competes with the peculiarity that, along with his compatriot Lingxin Huang, they are the only two skiers who do not have arms which implies a special technique and capacity for resistance as can be seen in the video that heads this news.
‘Golden trio’ for Oksana Masters
At 36 years old, Oksana Masters had already won titles in biathlon (sprint) and cross-country skiing (sprint) since her arrival in Italy. She added to her record the 10 km title, in which she beat the South Korean Kim Yunji, second at 20 seconds, and another American, Kendall Gretsch, third at 56 seconds.
The American of Ukrainian origin now has twelve Paralympic titles in his record, with a total of 22 medals. He has already equaled his mark from Beijing 2022, where he won three titles (two in biathlon and one in cross-country skiing).
Without a doubt, his harvest is not over, since he still has to compete in the chase in biathlon on Friday and the 20 km in cross-country skiing on Sunday.
Masters has the particularity of participating in the Summer Paralympic Games, in rowing (third in 2012 in London) and in cycling, where he has won four titles, in handbike, in the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo and Paris.
Born in Ukraine, a few hundred kilometers from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, with multiple malformations, without tibias and with one leg shorter than the other, She was abandoned at birth and spent the first years of her life in orphanages.
There he suffered violence and abuse before finally being adopted by an American, Gay Masters, who would change his lifeuntil she became the Paralympic champion she is today.
