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sports Diamars 31 augustus 2021

Last-place Pirates fire hitting coach Rick Eckstein

(AP) — The last-place slugging. The Pirates are also Former general manager
Pittsburgh Pirates have 27th in the majors in batting Neal Huntington hired Eck-
fired hitting coach Rick average and are on their way stein, the brother of former
Eckstein. to a third straight last-place major league second base-
finish in the NL Central. man David Eckstein, in No-
The team made the an- vember 2018.
nouncement on Monday. “Making the decision now
The Pirates, who are in the gives us the opportunity to The Pirates have overhauled
early stages of a reboot under use the rest of the season to their coaching staff since
general manager Ben Cher- focus on improvements in Eckstein joined the organi-
ington, have struggled to our hitting program while zation. The front office has
produce offense all season. also starting the process of been focused on stockpiling
looking for a replacement,” prospects, many of whom are
Pittsburgh entered Monday Cherington said in a state- still several years away from
last in the majors in runs ment. “We wish Rick all the reaching the majors, leaving
scored, home runs, slugging best moving forward.” Eckstein little to work with.
percentage and on-base plus

Masters level: Paralympian eyes medal in 4th different sport

(AP) - A thought recently Paralympic Games in Tokyo. She would. rowing. The pull of the oars
struck eight-time Para- “I’m hoping that my journey and the push against the wa- Because determination got
lympic medalist Oksana is helping inspire that next For that, she credits resilien- ter became a release for her, her through this: A few
Masters: What would young girl.” cy, a word she doesn’t throw a “healing from my past,” she weeks before the 2018 Para-
young Oksana, the one around lightly. once said. lympic Winter Games in Py-
who shuffled between It’s been quite a journey for eongchang, Masters slipped
Ukrainian orphanages, Masters, who was born in As a child, she was shuttled That started her on a path to on the ice in Montana, where
think of this grown-up 1989 with legs that were dif- between three orphanages. where she is now. Her first she was training, and dislo-
version? ferent sizes and missing shin- She tried to remain strong Paralympic Games medal was cated her right elbow. She
bones. She also had webbed but often wondered — would in rowing, a bronze in 2012 recovered in time to win
Young Oksana was always fingers, no thumbs, six toes someone rescue her? with partner Rob Jones. She five medals, including two
resilient, determined and on each foot, one kidney and would capture seven more golds in cross-country skiing
headstrong — qualities that only parts of her stomach. That someone would be Gay medals in cross-country ski- events.
helped her persevere through Masters, who saw a black- ing and biathlon (’14 and ’18)
years in an orphanage and Being from the region near and-white photo of a 5-year- and will be a favorite in her Afterward, she underwent a
with birth defects believed Chernobyl, the connection old Oksana in a Ukrainian classification of the hand-cy- procedure to fix her elbow.
to be from the aftermath of was made with the nuclear adoption notebook. cling events in Tokyo. She’s
Chernobyl, the world’s worst accident that happened in ’86. also training for Beijing, too, “She’s overcome so much,”
nuclear accident. That mal- It’s thought her birth mom Love at first sight. which will be in about six her mom said.
nourished orphan eventually either lived in an area that months.
was adopted by her American was contaminated or ingest- The process, though, took Gay recently moved to
mom. ed produce that was riddled more than two years after “It’s not about the medals,” Champaign to be closer to
with radiation, leading to in the Ukrainian government said Masters, who went to Masters and Masters’ boy-
Now 32, Masters remains utero radiation poisoning. placed a moratorium on for- high school in Kentucky. “It’s friend, Aaron Pike, a five-
just as resilient, determined eign adoptions. Gay sent care not about anything else ex- time Paralympian who’s
and headstrong — qualities Masters had her left leg am- packages filled with Teddy cept leaving a legacy, being competing in track events in
that helped her rise to the top putated near the knee at 9 bears to young Oksana. one example for that young Tokyo along with the mara-
in multiple Paralympic sports and the right one at the same girl to see.” thon. With fans not permit-
spanning the Winter and spot five years later. The packages never got to ted to attend the Paralympics
Summer Games. her. She recently partnered with due to coronavirus restric-
Fast-forward to the present: Secret deodorant as part of a tions, Gay headed to Colo-
“All the stuff that was in- There she was a few weeks Oksana thought she was on campaign called “ Watch Me,” rado Springs, Colorado, for a
grained in my younger self, ago, riding her hand-cycle her own again. That is, un- which encourages young Team USA watch party.
are also the reasons why I’ve around Champaign, Illinois, til one night, with the pa- girls to stay in sports with re-
been able to, with the sup- to prepare for Tokyo. All the perwork finally approved, sources and support. There “I’m nervous,” Gay said. “I’m
port of so many people be- more remarkable given she Gay arrived to take her new were murals placed in New always nervous. But excited.”
hind me, get to where I am had a tumor removed from daughter home to Buffalo, York City, Philadelphia and
today, ” said Masters, who her femur in late May — a New York. Atlanta that feature Ashleigh Headstrong — another word
will compete Tuesday in surgery that had some won- Johnson (water polo), Chin- Masters uses. Once she gets a
hand-cycling time trials and dering if she would be ready. They’ve overcome a lot — ey Ogwumike (WNBA), goal in mind, she chases after
Wednesday (road race) at the together. Malnutrition (she Chelsea Wolfe (BMX), Alex it. Just something she learned
weighed about 35 pounds Morgan (women’s soccer) from her younger self, who
when her mom took her and Masters. rarely took no for an answer.
home, which is healthy for
a 3-year-old but not for “There’s so much power “Not too long ago, I was
someone who was nearly 8). when you’re able to have honestly reflecting about
Early language barriers (they something that you can look little Oksana back in the or-
worked through it with ges- at and see and be like, ‘OK, phanage ... about staying true
tures and pointing at phrases it’s here. It’s doable,’” Mas- to her and who she is and
in a book). Walking on tip- ters said. “I’ve always been chasing those goals,” Mas-
py-toes (that’s how Masters about seeing is believing, and ters said. “Maybe sometimes
compensated for her differ- when you can see something, you can’t physically see your
ing leg heights). Surgeries (to you can be it and achieve it.” dreams, or see the dream that
amputate her legs). you’re dreaming that you
Determination. Another im- want, doesn’t mean it’s not
At 13, Masters discovered portant word to Masters. going to happen.”