Chernobyl disaster
FILE - Oksana Masters, of the United States, on her way to a silver medal in the Biathlon Women's 12.5km Sitting event during the 2018 Winter Paralympics at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre in Pyeongchang, South Korea, March 16, 2018. Masters credits resiliency, determination and being headstrong for what she is today -- an eight-time Paralympic medalist. Masters persevered through 7 1/2 years in Ukrainian orphanages and with birth defects believed to be the aftermath of Chernobyl, the world's worst nuclear accident. That malnourished orphan eventually was adopted by her American mom. She will compete at the Paralympics in Tokyo in road cycling this week. In six months, she also plans to defend her cross-country skiing Paralympic titles in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, file)
Masters cruises to Paralympic gold in hand-cycle time trial

By Pat Graham Aug. 30, 2021 02:18 AM EDT