Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty
Oksana Mastersis speaking candidly about competing at the2022 Winter Paralympicsamid theRussian invasion into Ukraine.
“I feel selfish, helpless, and guilty for being here,” she continued. “However, I have always been so proud to be Ukrainian, felt so much pride at the sight of the Ukrainian flag, and now more than ever, I am the proudest to say I am Ukrainian.”
“My mom always said my Ukrainian heart made me resilient; it made me a fighter. 💙💛,” the multi-sport athlete wrote.
Continuing her post, Masters said, “I am reminded how sport has always had the power to unite the world” amid the start of the Winter Paralympics.
She then noted that she “will be racing for more than just my own goals, more than a spot on the podium,” detailing, “every pole stroke, I will be racing for the families and kids in Ukraine with disabilities.”
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“While the Ukrainian people are fighting for their homes and peace, I want to make every start line and finish line mean something much bigger than a race or a result,” Masters continued. “I want to help make sure no child is forgotten.”
“I know how it felt to be a child in Ukraine with disabilities where the resource for medical help was slim to non-existent — more now in the midst of a war 💙💛,” she concluded before asking her followers to consider supportingNo Child Forgotten’s campaignto help Ukraine.
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Masters now has five gold medals to her name — two in women’s para cross-country skiing from PyeongChang 2018, two in women’s Para-cycling from Tokyo 2020, and her 2022 biathlon gold.
With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyycalled for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back. Putin, 69, insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country.
Zelenskyy, 44, vowed not to bend. “Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,“he told the European Unionin a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
To learn more about all the Paralympic athletes, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Winter Paralympics, beginning March 4, on NBC.
source: people.com
