\u201cWe\u2019re very proud, we\u2019re moving forward to the four-man event,\u201d the team\u2019s pilot added. \u201cIsrael is in the Olympics, baby! We did something unbelievable in this sport, to do it by ourselves, piecing it together. People might not realize how amazing this accomplishment is for this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t The team was never seen as having any real shot at a medal, after just missing out on qualifying outright for the Games, and winning an Olympic spot<\/a> thanks to reallocation.<\/p>\n But for the Israeli team, and Edelman in particular, the Cinderella run at making it to the Olympics at all was the culmination of eight years of hard work, crushing disappointments<\/a> and refusing to ever give up.<\/p>\n Edelman \u2014 a Boston native who made history as Israel\u2019s first-ever Olympic skeleton athlete<\/a> at the 2018 Games \u2014 cobbled together Israel\u2019s bobsleigh team by recruiting Israeli athletes from other sports.<\/p>\n He brought in Chen from the world of discus throwing, while Omer Katz was a sprinter, Uri Zisman a pole vaulter and Ward Fawarseh \u2014 Israel\u2019s first-ever Druze Olympian \u2014 a rugby player. Underfunded, overlooked and missing key training days due to IDF reserve duty for a number of its members, the team\u2019s uphill battle has led it to celebrate every step along the journey.<\/p>\n \u201cWe always want to be the first but not the last,\u201d Edelman told the Associated Press in an interview on Monday. \u201cI was very sure that, if we didn\u2019t get it done, there would never be an Israeli bobsleigh team in the Games, because no one was going to fight for that. Now we\u2019ve set a precedent. Others can come after us.\u201d<\/p>\n \t The team was also forced to skip a few pre-Olympic training days due to security concerns, leaving them the least experienced with the course in Cortina.<\/p>\n But Chen said the team has a real shot at improving its position in the four-man event, for which it has trained the hardest.<\/p>\n \u201cToday we had some difficulties, but every day we shave off almost a second from the previous day\u2019s time,\u201d he told Sport5. \u201cI\u2019m positive that in the four-man we\u2019ll have much better results.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Of course, not everyone wants to see Israeli athletes \u2014 in particular ones as outspoken as Edelman \u2014 at the Olympics, something made clear by the firestorm Tuesday over comments made a day earlier<\/a> by a Swiss broadcaster suggesting he be barred by his \u201csupport of the genocide in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n Edelman brushed off the comments in the interview Tuesday night, calling it \u201csuch a sad thing to do,\u201d and saying that soon enough, \u201cno one is going to remember that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the most amazing things about representing Israel is, you know in your heart that it\u2019s the greatest country in the entire world,\u201d he said. \u201cRepresenting a country for 12 years \u2014 I get out of bed to do this, because it\u2019s such an amazing place to represent\u2026 I live a very blessed life. I get to compete with the flag on my chest.\u201d<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AFP__20260216__97PD9ZU__v1__HighRes__BobsleighOly2026MilanoCortina-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tIsrael\u2019s Adam Edelman (front) and Menachem Chen compete in the bobsleigh men\u2019s 2-man heat 1 at Cortina Sliding Center during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo on February 16, 2026. (FRANCK FIFE \/ AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26035555474797-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tMembers of Israel\u2019s bobsleigh team, from left, Uri Zisman, Omer Katz, AJ Edelman, Ward Farwaseh and Itamar Shprinz, pose at the Olympic Committee of Israel headquarters, January 28, 2026, in Tel Aviv, before they depart for the 2026 Winter Olympics. (AP\/Julia Frankel)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26047404309614-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tIsrael\u2019s Adam Edelman, right, and Menachem Chen start for a two-man bobsled run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP\/Alessandra Tarantino)<\/p>\n
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