EPISODE · Jul 18, 2021 · 38 MIN
Oksana Masters
from On the Podium · host BBC World Service
Abandoned by her birth parents, Oksana Masters had birth defects caused by radiation, most likely from Chernobyl. Trapped and struggling to survive inside an abusive orphanage system in Ukraine, at the age of eight she was adopted by an American single mother. Oksana tells us how she used the trauma of her youth to push herself to sporting greatness, including winning medals at the winter and summer Paralympics. Harnessing the anger and drawing on massive reserves of determination, this is a remarkable story of coming to terms with trauma and refusing to let it define you.
What this episode covers
Abandoned by her birth parents, Oksana Masters had birth defects caused by radiation, most likely from Chernobyl. Trapped and struggling to survive inside an abusive orphanage system in Ukraine, at the age of eight she was adopted by an American single mother. Oksana tells us how she used the trauma of her youth to push herself to sporting greatness, including winning medals at the winter and summer Paralympics. Harnessing the anger and drawing on massive reserves of determination, this is a remarkable story of coming to terms with trauma and refusing to let it define you.
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Oksana Masters
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