Like a number of Israeli Paralympians, Shmulik Damiel was injured in the service of his country. “One day you’re a warrior in an IDF special unit, and then suddenly you can’t do anything on your own,” he said.
The rower is one of a 28-strong squad competing in the Paris Paralympic Games, which opened on Wednesday and runs until September 8. The Israeli team is slightly smaller than the 33 who won six golds, two silvers and a bronze in Tokyo three years ago.
In May 2005, Daniel, a commando of the IDF's elite Egoz unit, which specialises in guerilla warfare, was returning from a mission at Israel’s northern border with Lebanon when his military vehicle flipped.
He suffered an injury to his spinal cord and has been confined to a wheelchair since.
After spending months recovering from the accident at Sheba Medical Center, he was moved to the Beit Halochem Centre for disabled IDF veterans in Tel Aviv.
“I began with small goals like putting on a shirt by myself or taking a shower on my own,” he explained. “But it was clear to me that sport would be key to my rehabilitation process. I wanted to feel that I could still take my body to new physical and mental limits.
“At first, I fell in love with wheelchair tennis, and played until 2016. When I decided not to compete professionally, a good friend introduced me to rowing. I thought it would just be a hobby.”
Only months later, Daniel entered his first rowing competition.
Four years later, he finished sixth in the PR1 Men’s Single Sculls at the Tokyo Paralympics.
“Qualifying for the Games continues to be my dream,” he said. “It gets me up every morning at 5, even when I’m tired and have lots of reasons to stay in bed. I chase all the bad thoughts and just do it.”
He described the Olympic village in Paris as very impressive, a "neighbourhood" replete with athletes from across the globe.
"We see a lot of types of disabilities and no one cares,” Daniel said. “Here it’s normal. We don’t think about it, we see ourselves as the best athletes in the world, each one in his sport.”
Daniel's wife and children are his main engines, along with an entourage of coaches and medical staff.
“Even before October 7, representing Israel was the greatest honour. As a wounded soldier, I know what others are going through. I hope all of us embody the notion that there is life after a serious injury,” he said.
“Find something, whether sport or music or whatever, that will be the reason you want to be a better version of yourself. It's a long process but will take you to unique places that you never thought of before,” he added.
Sport allowed me to recover and get back to normal life
Druze Saleh Shaheen will also be representing Israel in rowing at the Paris Paralympics.
“It’s most important to reconcile with what happened. Getting injured isn’t the end of the world, we must pick ourselves up and rise from it,” Shaheen told the JC.
“It took a lot of time for me to get on the right path and get back to normal life. Sport is a great escape for anyone who is injured or deals with disabilities, as it brings out the best possible in us,” he said.
After completing his IDF service as a paratrooper, Shaheen enrolled in a security course. In January 2005, he was working at Israel's Karni Crossing with the Gaza Strip when Palestinian terrorists infiltrated the cargo terminal.
As Shaheen rushed towards the explosion, he was shot by terrorists, four bullets penetrating his left leg. He lay bleeding on the floor for around 45 minutes until rescue forces secured the terminal and were able to evacuate him to Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva.
There, he was listed in critical condition and spent 17 hours on the surgical table. After two weeks, Shaheen was transferred to Rambam Medical Centre in Haifa to be closer to his loved ones and after being treated for three months he began his rehabilitation.
During this time, Shaheen was contacted by an acquaintance who coached the wheelchair basketball team at the local Beit Halochem convalescence centre.
“At the beginning, it was hard for me to even think of playing wheelchair basketball. But eventually, I got into it so much I couldn’t stop,” he said.
While Shaheeen is today not confined to a wheelchair, he has limited function in his wounded leg.
“My doctors told me that my past as an athlete led to the medical miracle I went through," he said, adding: "Sport allowed me to recover and get back to normal life."
In 2019, he was approached to join the Israeli rowing team and will be representing the country, along with his partner Shahar Milfelder, in the PR2 Mixed Double Sculls in Paris.
They will compete in the event on August 30 and hope to qualify for the finals two days later with Shaheen determined to get Israel on to the podium.
“It’s a great honour to represent my country, but it’s also a huge responsibility,” he said. “I hope to do so in the most deserving and honorable way, especially in this difficult period after October 7. It is my goal to show the world how strong we are.”
