An American skier who suffered birth defects due to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and spent her early life in orphanages said today she was "on cloud nine" after winning Winter Paralympic gold.
Oksana Masters was born in 1989 in what is now Ukraine, and was then part of the Soviet Union, three years after a reactor exploded at the Chernobyl plant, sparking the world's worst nuclear disaster.
At birth she had six toes on each foot, five webbed fingers on each hand and no thumbs, and her left leg was six inches (15cm) shorter than her right.
Her family gave her up and she lived in three different orphanages until the age of seven, when she was adopted by an American woman and taken to the United States.
Due to the severity of her birth defects, doctors decided to amputate both her legs, and she also had multiple rounds of reconstructive surgery on her hands.
But despite her disabilities, Masters was determined to get involved in sports. As well as skiing, she also competes in rowing, biathlon and cycling.
Today she won her first Paralympic gold, in the 1.1km cross-country sprint skiing at the Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics.
"I feel like I'm cloud nine right now, I've been chasing this gold medal for such a long time," said the 28-year-old.
"This is the most amazing medal of my career."
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