Obama Leader and Paralympian shares three life-defining moments

It was 2012 when Vladyslava Kravchenko was asking God about the meaning of her life. Then she heard a voice on the television.

It was champion swimmer Olesya Vladykina speaking at the Paralympic Games in London. Vladyslava listened intently as Olesya shared a personal story about losing her arm and her best friend in a traffic accident. Olesya mentioned that the pool was her place of healing and she dedicated her Paralympic medal to her friend who had died.

The story was familiar. Vladyslava was paralyzed in an accident when she was 17. Metal scaffolding collapsed on her during an open-air disco party. At that moment her life changed. 

And she was ready for it to change again. The day she heard Olesya Vladykina’s voice, Vladyslava made a new decision: she would compete in the next Paralympic Games.

“Honestly, I did not expect the answer to come so quickly, but I trusted God’s vision and never looked back,” Vladyslava recalls. 

Soon, Vladyslava realized it wasn’t her disability that wouldn’t let her compete. Malta, where she lived, did not have a proper organization to govern Para sport and the Paralympic movement nationally. This meant that she couldn’t enter any international sport competitions or access any government funding.

So Vladyslava, along with a group of volunteers who were passionate about the cause, set up the Malta Paralympic Committee in 2018. 

Four years later, Vladyslava was on the global Paralympic stage in Rio de Janeiro. “Sport became my path to recovery, both physically and psychologically,” she explains.  

With her new Paralympic community at her side—“I “call it my family of choice,” Vladyslava says—she did more than just compete. 

She wanted to share her love of sport with others: other countries, states, and the next generation of Paralympians.

As Chairperson of the IPC Athletes’ Council, she amplifies the voices of athletes from underrepresented regions—small states, developing nations, conflict zones, and emerging Paralympic Committees.

As a founding member of the Malta Paralympic Committee, she’s working to bring Para sport into schools through the I’mPOSSIBLE Programme, developed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). It’s a mix of classroom learning and hands-on experiences in adapted sports like sitting volleyball, boccia, and goalball. In 2024, I’mPOSSIBLE reached over 3,000 students through leadership development sessions in 25 schools through workshops, school competitions, open days, and diversity weeks.

Vladyslava credits the Obama Leaders Europe program as a catalyst for growth, both personally and professionally. The program, which connects individuals working for good across the continent through training programs, virtual sessions, and the occasional conversation with President Obama, is based on the idea that connecting changemakers can make an even bigger impact. If one person is doing something great, what could happen if many people doing great things get together?

“This opportunity came around at a perfect time in my life when it was critically important for me to find like-minded individuals for my new ‘kitchen table,’ with whom we could have candid conversations and restore our sense of hope to navigate today’s world,” she explains.

Today, through the ongoing Obama Leadership Network alumni community, Vladyslava helps connect Leaders Europe program alumni across cohorts and recently attended the inaugural E

urope Regional Reunion. 

“It’s a space where ideas turn into action, and where support is always just a conversation away. Being part of this network continues to inspire and empower me to expand the reach and impact of our work in Malta and beyond,” says Vladyslava.

From competing to advocating to inspiring the next generation, Vladyslava is proving that sport can be a force for social change. And when progress feels slow? She leans into the wisdom shared by President Obama:

“His advice to our cohort: ‘Better is good.’”