December 14, 2014 (Vuokatti, Finland) – Oksana Masters (Louisville, Kentucky) won her first International Paralympic Committee Nordic Skiing World Cup event as she took gold in the women’s 1-kilometer cross-country sprint on Sunday in Vuokatti, Finland.

Oksana Masters (USA) © Pam Doyle

Masters, a three-time Paralympic medalist in Nordic skiing and rowing, was dominate throughout the day as she recorded the fastest time of the field in the qualifying round and easily won the semifinal round to secure her place in the finals.

In the finals, Masters faced stiff competition from Marta Zaynullina of Russia who won each of the previous days of world cup competition and from reigning Paralympic champion Mariann Marthinsen of Norway.

“Going into the final turn I was nervous and I knew I was going to have to have a good line to be able to hammer to the finish. I was telling myself to stay calm,” Masters said. “I could see [Marta] Zaynullina coming up next to me, and I went back to what I learned this fall and skied with relaxed, powerful poling.”

Masters effort proved to be enough as she crossed the line first, with Zaynullina less than a second behind.

Masters win today follows her second place finish in Saturday’s 5-kilometer cross-country race.

On the men’s side, 2010 Paralympic medalist Andy Soule (San Antonio, Texas) recorded the fastest time in the qualification. Soule was joined by teammate Aaron Pike (Park Rapids, Minnesota) in the first men’s semifinal. Going into the final turn, both men were in the top-three; however, a crash on the final turn resulted in Soule falling and Pike breaking a pole. Soule and Pike finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Competition concludes on Tuesday, Dec. 17 with the middle distance biathlon race. More information and complete results are available here.