CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — The only Israeli athlete at the Milan Cortina Paralympics will leave the Games without a medal but full of pride from displaying her nation’s flag at a time of distress back home.
Sheina Vaspi’s best finish was 12th place in the women’s Para alpine combined standing race. She is not expected to compete again because of a lingering injury and because of Shabbat. She missed a Paralympic race last weekend, too, because of the Jewish day of rest.
Israel and the United States launched a military attack on Iran on Feb. 28, less than a week before the opening ceremony at Milan Cortina.
“There’s a feeling that we should hide the Israel flag because it’s not safe right now to show it, not safe to show you are Jewish around the world,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press. “So I’m really happy I had the chance, like, at least to have it big on the helmet and show up, because I’m really, really proud of where I come from. I’m really proud of my people and of what they’ve been through in the last two years. I’m so happy I had the chance to represent that.”
The 24-year-old Vaspi, who had her left leg amputated in a car accident when she was a toddler, said it was tough to compete amid the ongoing war.
“It’s not easy because you need to be focused on the training and the performance and be in the moment,” she said. “And at the same time, you know, the people you love being in the shelter all night. I try really hard to keep focused, but it’s definitely a challenge.”
Vaspi, the granddaughter of an Israeli army commander, said she lost a cousin who went to fight for Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack which left 1,200 people, mostly civilians, dead and 250 taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
She said she was training in Colorado when she heard the news of her cousin’s death and was “really broken,” but used that as motivation to keep competing and representing her nation.
“The first thing that (my cousin) did was go and show up, and without anyone asking him to,” she said. “I knew he wanted me to keep going. He gave me a lot of strength.”
Vaspi said she felt welcomed by other athletes and felt good about explaining “more about what’s going on” with Israel. She said she got “a lot of love” from other athletes.
“I really was surprised to see a lot of support from other athletes, and I see in here a lot of people that, that ask (about) the pain of Israel, and they really love Israel, and it gives me a lot of strength in this time,” she said.
Vaspi had to fight to be allowed to wear a skirt over her racing suit four years ago going into her first appearance in the Paralympics in Beijing. She said she doesn’t feel the need to wear it anymore because it’s not as important for her, and because it hinders her speed.
She is not making exceptions about the Shabbat, though, and said she didn’t feel bad about missing races because of it.
“I’m completely fine and I go after what I believe in,” she said. “And feel OK with that.”
Vaspi said she leaves the Games “a little bit frustrated” because of her result, as she feels she had “much more to give” on the slopes. In addition to her 12th place finish, she did not end the race in the Super-G standing. Vaspi was 15th in the giant slalom standing in Beijing 2022.
“But I’m really proud of myself that I showed up,” she said.
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AP Winter Paralympics: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games