Oksana Masters made history again on Saturday, as the multi-sport talent earned gold in the women's sprint sitting Para biathlon to pad her already dominant resume as Team USA's most decorated Paralympian.
Masters' Saturday championship is also the first gold medal for the US at the 2026 Winter Paralympics.
"My emotions are just pure shock, I did not expect this," said Masters following her win. "All I was hoping was just to have a good time in the shooting range. I did not expect a podium finish to be honest, let alone a gold."
With 10 Paralympic victories — six Winter Games golds and four Summer golds — Masters now boasts an astounding 20 medals, earning podium finishes in rowing, cycling, cross-country skiing, and biathlon across seven different Paralympic Games.
Appearing in every Paralympics since 2012, the 36-year-old is coming off a difficult run, needing surgery over the summer as well as suffering both an infection and a concussion in the weeks leading up to Milan.
"I'm starting to realize that's who I am," she said. "I have to have adversity going into the Games, although I don't like it."
No stranger to conquering challenges, Masters leans on her "very strong 'why'" to outlast the competition.
"It's for every Paralympian, every athlete with a disability that was overlooked and was told they were never going to be enough and didn't belong," she explained after her Saturday victory. "That helps me overcome those adversities."
How to Watch Oksana Masters at the 2026 Winter Paralympics
Masters will next compete in Tuesday's para cross-country skiing competition, with qualifying beginning at 4:45 AM ET before the medal race starts at 8:22 AM ET.
All rounds will stream live on NBCOlympics.com.
The No. 3 South Carolina Gamecocks are calling in roster reinforcements, announcing Monday that French forward Alicia Tournebize will join the NCAA basketball team after the holidays.
"Alicia has an incredible skill set and basketball IQ," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a news release. "She has great touch around the rim, can shoot it out to the 3-point line and is a shot blocker."
While they've only dropped one game so far this season, the Gamecocks' roster has been running thin due to injuries — including losing star forward Chloe Kitts to a season-ending ACL injury in October.
With the continued absence of forward Ashlyn Watkins, who is out this season as she continues to rehab a January ACL tear, South Carolina has suffered additional temporary roster losses this month as injuries forced forward Madina Okot and guard Agot Makeer into concussion protocol.
Though Okot, who is currently averaging a double-double, returned to play last Thursday, Makeer remains out, as the Gamecocks and their traditionally deep bench continue a 2025/26 campaign that's seen just three games played with a healthy 10-player roster.
The midseason signing of Tournebize will add both depth and height to bolster South Carolina, as the 6-foot-7 freshman rivals Chicago Sky forward Kamilla Cardoso as one of Staley's tallest-ever players.
The 18-year-old daughter of French basketball Hall of Famer Isabelle Fijalkowski — one of the inaugural WNBA players for the Cleveland Rockers — is already making a name for herself in Europe, leading the France's youth squad in both scoring and rebounding as they claimed bronze at last summer's 2025 FIBA U18 EuroBasket.
Tournebize also packs professional experience, coming to Columbia from French club Tango Bourges Basket.
The young star will likely make her NCAA debut as South Carolina kicks off SEC conference play in early 2026.
Sidelined Phoenix Mercury star Satou Sabally is still down for the count, with the 27-year-old set to miss the 2026 season tip-off of Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball as she continues to recover from lingering concussion symptoms.
Sabally suffered the head injury in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the 2025 WNBA Finals on October 8th, requiring assistance in exiting the matchup after visibly swaying upon standing.
The concussion forced Sabally to sit out the remainder of the postseason series against the eventual 2025 WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces.
Both Sabally and Unrivaled planned her return to Phantom BC for the league's second season, with the German national impressing in the offseason venture's debut run by averaging 15.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game.
Sabally is under a multi-year contract with the upstart, with Unrivaled promising that while the forward will be out "indefinitely," medical personnel will reevaluate her fitness "at a later date" as both parties hope to see her on the 3×3 court this season.
In her stead, Golden State Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes — who suited up for Unrivaled's Laces BC last season — will join Phantom BC as Sabally's replacement.
The second season of Unrivaled 3x3 Basketball will tip off in Miami on January 5th, 2026.