Hoodu Ski Area, Ore. , The Ukrainian war legend Olecasandra Shavachka lost his left leg from the fire of the Russian tank outside the Kive. Three years later, the latest steps in his physical and mental rehabilitation recently emerged under a magnificent blue sky on a mountain covered with more than 5,000 miles (8,047 km).
38 -year -old Shavachka was one of the five Ukrainian veterans who came to Prashant Northwest for a ski lesson this month, Oregon with adaptive sports, an organization that was working to make the game more accessible for people with disabilities.
On a recent day, he listened carefully to a trainer before starting a slope in the Hudoo Ski area in Central Oregon, bending on two-handed “outreins”, which resembles the prior crutches with a small ski on the ends for turn and balance.
In March 2022, Shavachka was injured in Makarv village outside the capital of Kiev, shortly thereafter, Russia attacked Ukraine last month. He said that skiing on the mountain was a “amazing feeling”.
“This is a new experience, and I am very happy,” he said.
Oregon City of Korwellis has been a sister city with Uzhorod in western Ukraine for over 30 years. Association co-founder Carol Paulson said that its sister is hosting the City Association The Veterans, some of which are recovering in the rehabilitation hospital in Uzhorod, as well as two Ukrainian ski coaches.
The goal of the ski program is to improve the physical and mental health of the giants and teach Ukrainian ski coaches how to use adaptive ski devices so that they can share that knowledge with thousands of employees of the war -torn country. The group had a four -day lesson during two weeks.
“This reminds them that they can participate completely in life,” Paulson said. “The best thing is that they meet not only for freedom, but only for goodness.”
In the late 1960s and early in the 1970s, Paulson taught adaptive skiing for veterans of the Vietnam War, who lost organs. She saw how her mood was improved by being active on the mountain and wanted to provide the same experience to the veterans of Ukrainian war.
“The peace of skiing compared to other sports is also special,” he said. “It’s calm. You have ancient snow and air air.”
For Shavachka, adaptive sports have been important in their physical and mental rehabilitation, while other giants provide inspiration, they said.
In 2023, with his prosthetic leg, Shavachka ran a 10K race organized by US Marine Corps at Washington, DC, and competed with other Ukrainian veteran employees in Arnold Classic Europe, which was an offshore of a fitness and body-beding competition founded by Arnold Sharawaggerger.
At that multi-sport event, a group of eight veterans used ropes to draw four semetracks weighing 35 tons (31.7 metric tons), more than 30 seconds, more than 30 seconds, according to the Instagram page of the event, which described it as a Stronggman World Record.
Executive Director of Oregon Adaptive Sports, Pat Edbo said that the ski lessons highlight the transformational power of the game.
“What you are seeing here today is a big example of this-people from all over the world, coming to our small ski field in Oregon, to learn these life-long skills to learn to learn that they hope that they can take them home with them and teach others,” said Edebo.
Ukrainian giants and ski trainers will take back to Ukraine with them to start teaching three-track skiing using a full-sized ski and two out-of-the-backs for others who have lost organs.
One of the Ukrainian trainers, Christian Minai said, “I think we are starting a new era of the legendary rehabilitation program of our war.”
Minai also coachs Ukraine’s National Def Ski team and is working on developing a national paralympics ski team.
“Maybe, someday, we will see them from the podium at the paralympic games,” he said with a smile.
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