Sheina Vaspi, a world-class one-legged skier from Israel and part-time Colorado resident, says she was not born to hit the slopes. In fact, she did not take up skiing till she was 16.
Vaspi, now 24, was Israel’s first representative four years ago in the Paralympic Games. Four years later, she is again the only Israeli at the Paralympics, which end March 15.
The quadrennial international athletic competition for men and women with disabilities are taking place in Milan-Cortina, at the same Italian venues as the 2026 Winter Olympics, which concluded February 22.
A Sabbath-observant member of a Chabad family from Yesod Hama’alah in northern Israel’s Hula Valley, she is taking part in several para-alpine standing skiing events (separate “sitting” skiing races are offered in the Paralympics for men and women unable to stand). She chose not to race in two events scheduled for Shabbat.
Vaspi’s participation in the 2026 Paralympics follows her recovery from an injury last year that cost her a few months of training; and the deaths of a beloved grandmother and a cousin who fell fighting in Gaza.
Vaspi has been outfitted over the years with several high-tech prostheses she wears while walking. She lost her left leg, above the knee, in a traffic accident at the age of three and says she has no memory of walking on two legs.
One leg is her normal. “Okay,” she says, “I don’t have one of my legs. It’s not that dramatic — I am happy with what I have.”
Many years of rehabilitation and therapy in Israel followed her leg amputation.
Israel, which has experienced limited-but-growing success in the Summer Olympics, has fared well over the years in athletic competitions for disabled men and women because of the country’s network of support and rehab activities for injured soldiers and civilians.
‘I knew nothing about skiing’
Eight years ago, a relative of Vaspi who had experience working with disabled Israeli soldiers suggested she try skiing.
Vaspi took her first skiing lessons on Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, Israel’s only ski resort.
“I knew nothing about skiing until I tried it for the first time,” she says. “I skied for a few hours and I liked it.”
She was a quick learner, soon showing her potential and an innate ability.
Vaspi’s progress was helped by the Israeli Paralympics Committee, the Erez Assn. (an organization for disabled soldiers), the Sports Assn. for the Disabled and the Shevet Foundation, which specializes in adaptive sports and prostheses.
Like other competitors in her specialized sport, she uses a single ski and specially-adapted poles that include two short blades that enhance balance.
Realizing her high level of skill in the sport —she reaches speeds of 55 mph on the slopes — as well as the difference between the work required to move up from skiing’s recreational level to its competitive level, she decided to seek more training and coaching.
She moved to Winter Park, Colo., home of the National Sports Center for the Disabled, where she improved her skiing technique (and her English).
Her family supported her dedication to her sport.
By 2022, Vaspi was good enough to qualify for the Paralympics held in Beijing. She finished there, as the only entrant from a warm-weather country, in 15th place in the giant slalom, out of 22 racers, a respectable showing for a first-time Olympian. She bowed out of the shorter slalom race when it was rescheduled at the last minute to Saturday.
So Vaspi looked ahead to the 2026 Games.
‘Shabbat is Shabbat’
As a Sabbath-observant athlete, she declines to race or train on Friday night or Saturday. “That was how she grew up,” says Limor Goldberg, chief of Israel’s mission to the Paralympics. For Vaspi, says Goldberg, “Shabbat is Shabbat.”
As a chasidic woman, Vaspi always wears a skirt over her standard ski pants — which does not seem to cramp her style on the slopes.
Vaspi is, as far as she knows, the only Orthodox athlete taking part in the Paralympics.
She appreciates her status. “I feel blessed that I can carry on practicing my religion and pursue sports as well.”
She has not indicated encountering any anti-Semitic reactions from fans or fellow athletes.
Coping with the psychological pressure of competing while her Israeli homeland is coming under rocket fire from Iran, Vaspi nearly did not finish in the March 9 Super-G. She ended up coming 11th, after skiing out of the track, missing a gate, and 13th in the slalom, giving her a combined finish of 12th, according to Times of Israel. She did not compete in the March 12 giant slalom.
On a wall behind the stands where fans watched the competition, an Israeli flag was posted alongside the flags of the other nations whose athletes were taking place in the skiing events.
While Vaspi’s goal was a finish in the top ten in her races, just showing up was a success, says Goldberg. Her main goal was to put Israel on the map — to show that Israel is everywhere.
On International Women's Day, we’re celebrating women breaking barriers and making history.
Meet Sheina Vaspi🎿 Israel’s First Paralympic Alpine Skier
Blue-and-White carving down the mountain with determination, representing Israel in every turn❄️🇮🇱
Check out her first… pic.twitter.com/IkiojXv5yf— Israel ישראל (@Israel) March 8, 2026
