The athlete, who is of Ukrainian origin, wanted to support his homeland, but the organizers decided otherwise. This event gave him the motivation to win. He will use part of his prize money to help Ukraine.
United States national team star Oksana Masters was forced to put a Ukrainian heart sticker on her helmet. CNN writes that this happened during the Paralympic Games in Paris.
The 19-time medalist wanted to publicly show her Ukrainian heritage with a heart sticker on her helmet, but Paralympic officials told her not to, as the paraathlete told reporters in comments.
This behavior by the organizers only increased his motivation to win.
“It really got me going. It just fueled the fire. Just because someone could hide my sticker, they couldn’t hide my fire and my drive,” Oksana Masters says.
There was an incident, the athlete continues at the starting gate. There were no inscriptions on the helmet, only a heart shape with Ukrainian symbols. So he does not understand why this happened.
On Wednesday, the 35-year-old para-athlete still managed to win the gold medal, and later won another gold medal in the para-cycling race. On the eve of the Games, Oksana Masters had already said that she would definitely donate part of her prize money to charities in favor of Ukraine. She did the same at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing. Later, she helped children who suffered from the Russian occupation.
Originally from Ukraine, the athlete was adopted from an orphanage at a young age and moved to the United States with her family. Despite living abroad, the woman left an indelible legacy in her homeland and represented the Ukrainian people.
“I am honored to line up and compete here in Paris. There are so many athletes here, so many Ukrainian coaches who will never achieve their dreams and who do all the hard work to represent their country here. I was one of them. “I think that’s one of the reasons why I’m here now, to come out and contribute, if I can help even a little bit, to the children in Ukraine who have been forgotten over time, who have limited opportunities and no resources,” Oksana Masters summarized.
Journalists approached Paralympic organizers for comment, but there was no response at the time of publication.
Let’s remind, on September 8, we reported that Ukraine took 7th place in the overall Paralympic Games standings. Ukrainian Paralympians left France, Japan and Australia behind in the number of medals, losing to China, the USA, Italy and Brazil.
On August 7, it was reported that a Ukrainian woman was forced to paint over part of the words “I am Ukrainian” at the Olympics. Anastasia Rybachok independently developed the design of the image in the canoe, putting into this image a highly important context of self-identity and the indestructibility of Ukraine.
Source: Focus
Ben Stock is an accomplished sports journalist. He currently works at 24 news breaker, where he has a reputation for providing in-depth analysis and unique perspectives on the latest sports news. He has a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of the sports industry. With a passion for storytelling, Ben’s writing takes readers closer to the action and the people behind it.