Israel’s bobsleigh team makes history with first-ever Winter Olympics qualification

Israel’s national bobsleigh team made history on Thursday, securing its first-ever qualification for the Winter Olympics, scheduled for Feb. 6-22 in the Italian cities of Milano and Cortina.

Led by the U.S.-Israeli pilot Adam J. Edelman, the four-man team has been working hard for eight years to secure a spot in the worldwide competition. The other team members are Menachem Chen, Ward Fawarseh and Omer Katz.

Fawarseh is an Israeli Druze rugby player who hails from the northern Israeli town of Maghar. Israeli athlete Uri Zisman will travel to Italy with the team as backup.

“This is a historic achievement,” the Olympic Committee of Israel said in an official statement.

“Dreams do come true. For this dream, that day is today,” Edelman wrote on Instagram. “The Israeli Bobsled Team is now ‘The Israeli Olympic Bobsled Team.’ We are headed to Milan,” he continued.

Edelman thanked the team’s supporters for “being a part of this journey,” adding, "Let’s go make more history.”

During the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2018, the Israeli bobsleigh team finished just one spot below the countries that qualified for the tournament. In 2022, after failing to qualify for the Olympics, Edelman told The Times of Israel, “This mission is not done, and this mission really needs to be completed.”

He concluded with a prediction that was realized four years later, saying: “I’m just motivated to make this thing work for 2026. So I’m already putting the plans in place.”

Because of its warm climate and limited facilities, Israel has yet to win a medal at a Winter Olympics. The bobsleigh team’s historic qualification, however, will nearly double the country’s delegation to nine athletes at the upcoming Games. Other Israeli competitors include cross-country skier Attila Mihaly Kertesz, who will carry the flag at the opening ceremony, figure skater Mariia Seniuk, and alpine skiing siblings Noa and Barnabos.

Speaking to The Times of Israel on Thursday, David Greaves, the president of the Israeli Olympic Bobsleigh Skeleton Federation, said the achievement capped a 24-year effort that began with the formation of the country’s first bobsled team in 2002.

“That’s a huge sense of pride,” he said. “To know that we’re contributing in a significant way to the delegation at these Olympic Games is very, very exciting.”

Greaves said the team is “so excited” to represent Israel.

“At the Olympic Games, with all the eyes from around the world, to see the Israeli flag flying now at the bobsled and skeleton track is something that will be forever meaningful to all of us.”

It remains to be seen whether the bobsleigh team or any of the other Israeli participants will succeed in securing Israel's first medal at a Winter Olympics competition

Israel won a record seven medals at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.