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CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — They didn’t talk about it, but they both knew.Back at the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia, both Oksana Masters and Aaron Pike made a point to get away from their U.S. teammates so they could have a moment alone together. Headed toward a gondola to their next destination, that meant a very fast pace for Masters, who was on the same page as Pike.
“He’s on wheels, so he has no idea how hard I have to work to keep up with him,” Masters said. “I did my best speed walk to try and catch that gondola so it would just be me and him.”
Luckily, both are pretty dang fast.
“It was just like a moment on the gondola and just like this pure hug of just being together in this moment, at that time not knowing where our future was going to be,” said Masters, now 36.
Having both competed in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, the pair met for the first time in 2013 in Utah as they both tried out para Nordic skiing, bonding over sport and a shared love of coffee — Pike’s French press sparked a conversation. But it was at the Sochi Games where they found a quiet moment together, and the relationship took a more serious turn. When it came time to depart and they were set to head to the airport, they ended up becoming a couple.
“I think that’s when we both kind of realized that it was something more than just friends,” said the 39-year-old Pike.
Since then, including the 2012 Games, both are eight-time Paralympians. Pike competes in cross-country and biathlon in the winter, and wheelchair racing in the summer. Masters is one of the most prominent Paralympians thanks to her sheer domination, along with her backstory. In addition to five total Summer Paralympic medals, in cycling and rowing, she’s become the most decorated U.S. Winter Paralympian, competing in cross-country and biathlon.
That title has only been further bolstered by these Games, with Masters picking up three gold medals in four events so far to bring her tally to 22 Paralympic medals (12 gold) across the Summer and Winter Games.
But even for an athlete as dominant as Masters, these most recent medals were not a certainty. A few days ahead of the Games, Masters revealed that the same infection that knocked her out of last year’s winter season had come back in her leg. On top of the infection, Masters also suffered a concussion. It meant scaling back on training in the lead-up to the Games.
“My mom’s like, ‘This is your MO. If you had a smooth sail into the Games, (I) would be worried.'” Masters said. “This is all I know.”
Combine that with the constant back-and-forth of sport seasons, and it can be a lot. But Masters says she knows how to compartmentalize the nerves and anxiety. Once she hears the beeping in the countdown, she can “just block out and just let (her) body go on autopilot mode.”
Despite the most recent setbacks, Masters won Team USA’s first gold medal of the Games, claiming her sixth Winter Paralympic title in the women’s sprint sitting event in para biathlon. Post-victory, Masters said, “I did not expect a podium finish, to be honest, let alone a gold.”
At her next event, Masters finished fourth. So did Pike in his second event. Both had missed a shot in their biathlon races.
“I was like, ‘Aaron, like, we don’t need to be twins like this. I don’t want you to copy all that.'”
But Pike knew she had a rough race, so he made her a coffee and hugged her.
“Just those things that aren’t necessarily words and (are) just small little actions of love and makes me smile … so happy to be on this journey with him,” Masters said.
Pike loves the little rituals too, like waking up in all of the different places they travel to together. And naturally, it circles back to their favorite beverage, with Pike saying, “Those slow mornings where nothing’s even said, you’re just hanging out having coffee. That says that stuff’s great.”
And of course, they’re there supporting each other when it comes to the competition. Even in her continued dominance in these Games, Masters is most excited for Pike. She admires Pike’s ability to shake the bad races off and pivot to the next. And her ultimate gold medal in these Games would be watching Pike win his first one: “That’s my biggest dream of those Games,” she said.
Post-Games, the two plan to celebrate regardless.
In summer 2022, Pike went back to that first gondola ride, proposing on a ride up the Tetons mountain range in Wyoming. One quad later, the pair will celebrate the next step of their lives together. After some time at home, and re-packing without the fear of a wedding dress being lost amid the close to 20-plus suitcases along for the Paralympic ride, the couple will marry later this spring in Italy.
“Our journey started because of snow,” Masters said. “We met in the mountains, and this is the perfect way for us to (go back) where it all started for us and continue our next, new chapters of our lives together.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Olympics, Global Sports, Women's Olympics
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