“War took away my home, my training base, and the life I once knew—but not my Olympic dream.” Alina Shapovalova was nine when she began sailing Optimists in Odesa, Ukraine. The Black Sea was her training ground, and sailing quickly became the center of her life. By her early teens she was racing internationally and developing within Ukraine’s national program. She had a clear path forward. Then, in February 2022, Russia’s full-scale invasion changed everything. Alina was away at a regatta in France with her father when the invasion began. He returned to Ukraine to help the rest of the family leave, and they eventually found safety in Switzerland. The yacht club where Alina had trained was destroyed. At 14, she was separated from her familiar boat, coach, teammates and home waters just as she was ready to move from the Optimist into the ILCA pathway. Her sailing did not stop, but almost every part of it had to be rebuilt. A host family near Lake Zug helped Alina’s family establish a new home. The Dirt Regattaclub Sisikon welcomed her into training, and a network of sailors and supporters began solving one problem at a time. When she needed a boat for the 2022 ILCA 4 Youth World Championship in Portugal, Lagos Sailing Club provided one. Alina responded by winning the Under-16 world title and finishing second in the Under-18 division. That result was the beginning of a remarkable run. After moving into the ILCA 6, Alina won the 2024 Youth European Championship in Northern Ireland. In 2025 she took bronze at the Youth Europeans and silver at the Youth World Championship in Los Angeles. World Sailing reported that she finished only 16 points behind the champion. Later that year, a victory in the final race of the Youth Sailing World Championships lifted her to fifth overall. Those results matter because the ILCA 6 offers nowhere to hide. Every sailor races essentially the same equipment. Speed comes from fitness, technique, judgment and the ability to make good decisions while exhausted. Alina’s consistency across different venues and conditions shows more than natural ability; it shows that she has learned how to keep improving despite an unusually unstable training environment. Now 19, Alina is making the difficult transition from youth success into the senior Olympic fleet. Her 2026 season brought her back to Southern California for the North American Championship and the San Pedro Olympic Classes Regatta, where she finished third among the Under-21 sailors. Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club has welcomed her as an honorary member, giving her a meaningful connection to the community and the waters that will host Olympic sailing in 2028. Los Angeles is no longer a distant idea. Alina’s campaign plan calls for roughly 200 days on the water each year and six or seven international regattas annually. Her training will move among California, Switzerland and the Mediterranean as she pursues senior World and European Championships, Olympic qualification events and repeated blocks on the LA28 venue. The goal is to represent Ukraine at the Games and arrive prepared to compete, not simply participate. Building that program requires reliable coaching, race-ready equipment, travel, regatta entries, physical preparation and enough uninterrupted training time to turn lessons into speed. It also requires a stable team around an athlete who has spent the last four years creating stability for herself. Alina hopes to give back along the way through junior coaching, club clinics and regular updates that bring supporters inside the campaign. The distance from Odesa to Los Angeles is measured in far more than miles. Alina has already shown that she can begin again, win at the highest level of youth sailing and carry Ukraine’s flag with distinction. Support now can help give her the consistent preparation she needs to take the next step—and turn an Olympic dream preserved through war and displacement into a place on the LA28 starting line.