Oksana Masters Sweeps Nordic Titles At Östersund World Cup

Oksana Masters in action on the way to winning bronze in the women's sprint sitting 10-kilometer biathlon during the World Para Snow Sports Championships on Jan. 16, 2022 in Lillehammer, Norway.

Oksana Masters is considered one of the favorites at the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, and she showed why in her final tune-up before the Games.
Masters continued her recent hot streak, winning two gold medals in cross-country skiing and another in biathlon at a Para Nordic skiing world cup that wrapped up Tuesday in Östersund, Sweden.
Masters’ strong showing came only a few days after she won five medals, including a pair of world titles, at the World Para Snow Sports Championships in Lillehammer, Norway. On Monday, she was named to the U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing team that will compete next month in Beijing. It will mark the sixth consecutive Paralympics for the 10-time medalist in Nordic skiing, cycling and rowing.
Masters cruised to a victory in the women’s sitting middle-distance cross-country race on the first day of competition in Östersund on Jan. 27. She finished in 25 minutes, 34.6 seconds, almost two minutes ahead of silver medalist Marta Zaynullina of Russia.
A day later, Masters won the women’s cross-country sprint, followed by American teammate Kendall Gretsch with the silver medal.
Masters and Gretsch again finished first and second, respectively, in the women’s sitting biathlon sprint on Jan. 30. Masters captured her third gold at the world cup in 23:52.5.
Gretsch, a three-time gold medalist who also qualified for the Beijing Winter Paralympics, finished nearly 18 seconds behind Masters at 24:09.4 to earn the silver.
Masters clinched the overall cross-country season title with her performance in Östersund, and Gretsch finished second.
Dan Cnossen and Aaron Pike each earned a bronze medal at the world cup as they continued their preparations for Beijing.