Sheina Vaspi ( he, שיינא וספי) is an Israeli Paralympic alpine skier. She represented Israel at the

2022 Winter Paralympics The 2022 Winter Paralympics (), commonly known as Beijing 2022 (), was an international winter multi-sport parasports event held in Beijing, China from 4 to 13 March 2022. This was the 13th Winter Paralympic Games, as administered by the Inte ...

held in Beijing, China in

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

. She is the first Israeli athlete ever to compete at the

Winter Paralympic Games The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. ...

Biography

Vaspi was born in

Yesud HaMa'ala Yesud HaMa'ala ( he, יְסוּד הַמַּעֲלָה) is a moshava and local council in northern Israel. The moshava was the first modern Jewish community in the Hula Valley. Built in 1883, the community was among a series of agricultural settl ...

in northern

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, to a

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

family. She is the granddaughter of

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Yoav Vaspi, who was killed in the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

. When she was three years old, she was seriously injured in a car accident and as a result, her left leg was amputated. As part of the rehabilitation process, Vaspi began skiing at the age of 16, with the Erez Foundation, under the auspices of The Israel Sports Association for the Disabled and the Israeli Paralympics Committee.

Career

The Erez Association and Sports Association for the Disabled supported her aspirations for competitive skiing. She subsequently moved to

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

in the United States for training, where she spent at least half the year. Vaspi's coach is Scott Olson, with whom she trains at the National Sports Center for the Disabled in Colorado. Vaspi does not compete on the

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

and competes wearing a skirt, in accordance with her family's religious observances.

Competitions in 2022

In January 2022, Vaspi competed internationally at the World Para Snow Sports Championships in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

, Norway. She finished in 13th place in the

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...

event. She then participated in the final World Cup competition of the season in Åre, Sweden.

Beijing Paralympic Games 2022

Vaspi is the first athlete to represent Israel at any winter Paralympics. She competed at the

in Beijing, China, in the

Alpine Skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

event

. The disability category is LW2 and as such, she competed upright on her right leg, with both hands holding a

ski pole Ski poles, also referred to as poles (in North America), sticks (UK), or stocks (Australia), are used by skiers for balance and propulsion. Modern ski poles are most commonly made from aluminum and carbon fiber, though materials such as bamboo are ...

. She was not able to compete in the women's slalom event after a change in schedule caused a conflict with

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaspi, Sheina Living people Paralympic alpine skiers for Israel Alpine skiers at the 2022 Winter Paralympics Jewish Israeli sportspeople Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidim Israeli female alpine skiers Year of birth missing (living people)