team for disabled swimmers . Yet , her dreams didn ' t stop there . She aspired to compete in the Paralympic Games , but the demands of work intervened . She made the difficult decision to step away from intensive training , but another passion emerged — journalism .
Forty years ago , despite skepticism from others who believed a journalist in a wheelchair was implausible , Pascale remained unwavering . “ Everybody told me you cannot be a journalist because you ' re sitting in a wheelchair . And I said what is the point , I ' m sitting in a wheelchair but I can talk , I speak different languages , I am curious , I know history so I will continue . But they said , look at the world . There are no journalists in wheelchairs anywhere in the world . Israel is a very tiny country but even in America you don ' t have anybody in wheelchairs being a journalist . And I said I don ' t care . I ’ ll be the first .” Pascale pursued her dream of becoming a journalist and became the first woman in a wheelchair to do so , shattering preconceived notions and paving the way for others to follow . “ I fought for my rights and began to write and film and I became a reporter for the TV here in Israel and also in France . I also worked a little for CBS and I met Johnny Hockenbury who happened to be a journalist in wheelchair . I met him in the West Bank doing a report and it was really nice to see I was actually not the first . I was the first woman wheelchair journalist , but not the first wheelchair journalist .”
Pascale ' s spirit of individuality and the relentless pursuit of her passions inspire many . At age 40 , she decided to make a comeback to her Paralympic career , unfazed by societal expectations that deemed her too old . She states , “ again , everybody thought , you know , you ' re crazy . But this time , they didn ' t think I was crazy because I ’ m a wheelchair user anymore , they now thought I ' m crazy because I ' m 40 years old and it ’ s too old to begin a career in sports .” However , her determination remained unyielding , driven by a firm belief in following her heart . “ I said to them , this is not a beginning of sports for me , I was there before and I ' m coming back to it that ' s all .” She added , “ there ’ s Dara Torres , an American swimmer , who did an amazing come back at 40 . I don ’ t know her but like her , I ' m just following my heart and doing what I like .” Pascale ’ s journey took her to the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games , where she became Israel ' s firstever rower in the Paralympics , defying expectations and proving that age should never be a barrier to pursuing one ' s dreams . “ I ' ve already participated in four Olympic Games in three different sports . I was a rower in Beijing in 2008 , London in 2012 , I was a hand biker and then in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 I was a kayaker . I love to kayak and also represented Israel in Tokyo . Now I ' m training for Paris 2024 . I don ’ t know if I ’ ll qualify but I ’ m doing what my soul is asking me to .”
Her incredible strength and sense of self extend beyond
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