Oksana Masters Admits She Wouldn’t Be Back for 2026 Winter Paralympics Without Her Mother: ‘She Knows Just the Right Words’ (Exclusive)

There’s only one thing on Oksana Masters’ mind when she enters the final lap.

“Every lap and every race that I do, the last lap is always dedicated for my mom because there’s so many times I thought about giving up,” the renowned U.S. Paralympic athlete tells PEOPLE. “I’ve questioned it a lot, and she’s always supported me.”

At first glance, Masters’ resume isn’t one you’d expect from a person battling doubt. In fact, it’s beyond remarkable: A multi-sport athlete who has competed at the top level in both the Summer and Winter Games, and a nine-time gold medalist across seven different Paralympic appearances who’s brought home 19 medals in all. It’s no stretch to say Masters is not only one of the greatest Paralympians in U.S. history, but among the most prolific athletes of all-time.

Yet, it’s been no easy race getting to that final lap, and the 36-year-old Paralympian says that in many ways she has her adoptive mother, Gay Masters, to thank.

“My mom is my biggest family,” Masters tells PEOPLE, two months out from defending gold medals in both the para cross-country skiing and para biathlon events this March in Tesero, a mountainous city north of Milan.

“She’s the one who literally sacrificed everything for me,” Masters says about Gay, an American professor who adopted her from a Ukrainian orphanage when she was just 7 years old. “She took out of her retirement to fund to help me chase this dream of — before I even knew I made it — of becoming a Team USA athlete. That’s why it’s so important for me to see her face at the finish line.”

The first time Masters saw her mother’s face at the finish line was at the end of a two-year adoption process as a child, she recalled in a 2017 Players Tribune tribute to her mother.

“When I came to the United States I was not only malnourished, but also missing a kidney, parts of my stomach, and bones in my calves, which made it very difficult to walk even short distances,” Masters, who had both her legs amputated by the time she was 14 and was born with defects on both hands due to what doctors believe to be lasting effects of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Born three years later roughly 400 kilometers away from the disaster site, Masters has since navigated an extraordinary amount of obstacles from the radiation-related conditions she was born into. Yet, by the time she was 13, Masters discovered a love for sport.

At first it was rowing, an event she went on to win a bronze medal in the mixed double skulls events at the 2012 London Games. The third-place finish was just the first of what would come to be a record-breaking list of achievements. Later training to compete in cross-country skiing, biathlon and cycling, Masters has won nine gold medals, seven silvers, and three bronze in total — enough to make her the most decorated U.S. Winter Paralympian of all-time with 14 medals in across her three winter appearances. At the 2022 Winter Games, Masters stole the show with one of the most impressive performances for any Paralympian or Olympian in history, winning seven medals across that year’s cross-country skiing and biathlon events.

This year, though, may have been Masters’ toughest yet. After her record-breaking performance at the 2022 Beijing Games, Masters underwent multiple reconstructive surgeries on her left hand. During last winter, Masters tells PEOPLE she had to be flown to a treatment facility in Utah after getting an infection in her leg which, if not immediately treated, could’ve resulted in further amputation up the limb.

Then this past July, a freak accident led Masters to undergo another reconstructive surgery on two of the fingers on her right hand, she recently told the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee in a story about her latest medical obstacle. The injury included damage to her trigger finger, which she tore a ligament in during the accident while packing. Yet, five months later, Masters tells PEOPLE she’s ready to pack her bags once again and compete in her eighth consecutive Paralympic Games.

Amid Masters’ latest doubts, it was of course her mother who set her mind straight.

“My mom was there by my side for the surgery, for every surgery,” Masters says. “I was just wondering, asking her like, ‘Is this a sign? Maybe I’ve peaked in 2022 for the skiing season in Beijing and maybe I’m not meant to go any further. I’m not supposed to know what’s on the other side and really what I can do.’ She always reminds me it’s my Ukrainian heart: I’m resilient. I’m a fighter, and she’s always brought that out in me.”

Reflecting more, Masters adds: “What she does for me is give me that safe place to feel vulnerable, to feel scared, and to express it. But then she knows just the right words to remind me why I’m doing it and to give me that confidence to build myself back up and remind you that this is just day one. When she’s helping me, when I got back to skiing, and I’m using her arm to brace myself to try and turn, she’s like, ‘This is just day one. This isn’t the Games yet.’ And it’s just those small little baby steps that are going to make it.”

Come March, those baby steps will lead Masters back to the world stage, where she’s flourished for more than a decade as one of the events’ top stars. And once again, many expect the resilient U.S. athlete to make multiple podium finishes.

“It’s a bittersweet moment when I do get to have a good race and stand up on the podium,” Masters says, thinking back to all her mother has sacrificed to help her stand there each time. “Because it would not have been possible without her.”