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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n They have been a very tough four years for Vaspi, with the loss of her cousin, Cpt. (res.) Arnon Benveniste Vaspi<\/a>, who was killed in November 2023 while fighting in Gaza, as well as her beloved grandmother, coupled with a serious injury that sidelined her for months.<\/p>\n \t \u201cFor me, to represent Israel, especially now, has an enormous significance to me, because what we all went through in the past two years \u2014 it wasn\u2019t easy,\u201d Vaspi said in a video message shared by the Israel Paralympic Committee on Tuesday. \u201cAnd for me personally, these past two years haven\u2019t been easy at all.\u201d<\/p>\n But no matter what, said Vaspi, \u201cI chose to keep going, in part because of the knowledge that without me, the flag of Israel won\u2019t be at the Paralympic Games, and in my eyes its so important just to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n As a young child, Vaspi lost her left leg in a traffic accident. She began skiing as a teenager and fell in love with the sport, qualifying for the 2022 Games where she finished 15th in the giant slalom. In January 2025, she suffered a tough injury that sidelined her for months, but she fought her way back to the slopes.<\/p>\n \u201cI returned this season after tearing my ACL in my only knee, and when it\u2019s the only knee, it makes it that more challenging,\u201d she said. \u201cMy cousin, who was killed in the war, Arnon Benveniste, would say \u2014 and would prove it himself \u2014 that if you want something, you can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Through it all, Vaspi said, \u201cMy goal is to be on that mountain and know that I didn\u2019t leave a single thing behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tIsrael\u2019s Sheina Vaspi competes in the women\u2019s giant slalom standing alpine skiing event at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Center in Yanqing during the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games on March 11, 2022. (WANG Zhao \/ AFP)<\/p>\n
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