The World Bobsled Championships are currently underway in Lake Placid, New York. On Saturday, Israeli-American athlete Adam Edelman used the international stage to raise awareness for the hostages still held in Gaza, racing with a yellow ribbon on his back.
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Israeli American bobsledder Adam Edelman competes World Bobsledding Championships with a yellow ribbon for the Gaza hostages on his back
(Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)
The competition, which began Thursday, serves as a preparatory event for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. This year’s championship features a record 38 nations, including Israel, with 300 athletes competing. After two rounds, Edelman and his teammate, Ragnars Kirejevs, are ranked 25th out of 31 teams. In 2018, Edelman made history as the first Israeli to compete in bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics.
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Edelman, 27, grew up in a traditional Jewish home in Brookline, Massachusetts, and attended a Jewish day school. After high school, he spent a year studying in a yeshiva in Israel and officially immigrated in 2016. His older brother, Alex, is a comedian.
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Team Israel: Adam Edelman and Ragnars Kirejevs compete in the World Bobsledding Championships
(Photo: Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters)
A mechanical engineering graduate and former ice hockey player, Edelman’s deep connection to Israel and Judaism is evident in his competitions. He famously wears a helmet featuring an image of the biblical hero Samson, along with Theodore Herzl’s quote, "If you will it, it is no dream." His sled is decorated with a blue Star of David, and he is known on the circuit as "The Hebrew Hammer." Before training and races, he follows his routine of waking up early to put on tefillin.