Yahoo Sports
She lost her legs to Chernobyl radiation, was abused in an orphanage and ended up as a Paralympic medalist
Due to the Chernobyl radiation, Oksana Masters was born with six toes on each foot, the fingers attached, and with her left leg 15 centimeters shorter than her right. She was abandoned by her parents and was raised in an orphanage where she suffered all kinds of abuse until an American teacher adopted her shortly before she was eight years old. In the US, she underwent several operations and had to amputate her lower extremities to relieve her pain. Her tough childhood was not an impediment for this young Ukrainian-American, who is now 31 years old, to end up succeeding in the sport. She has practiced rowing, cycling and skiing and has eight Paralympic medals won in both the summer and winter Games.More stories that may interest you: Gui Yuna, the former Paralympic athlete who triumphs as a bodybuilder in China legs as a child and has become champion of bodybuilding: the story of Edgard John-AugustinNick Newell, the one-armed fighter who dreams of success in mixed martial arts
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