The Winter Olympics are already underway, and the bobsled team that will represent Israel at the Milan–Cortina 2026 Games is continuing its preparations ahead of the competitions in which it will take part. Over the weekend, however, the team has experienced an unexpected jolt.
When team members Adam Edelman, Menachem Chen, Omer Katz, Ward Fawarsy and Uri Zisman returned from a training session, they discovered that the apartment where they were staying had been broken into. Among the items stolen was Fawarsy’s passport, a development that caused concern within the delegation. The team notified the Olympic Committee of Israel and, in coordination with the relevant authorities, the issue was quickly addressed. Fawarsy was issued a temporary passport, allowing him to continue with his teammates to the Olympic venue and join the blue-and-white delegation ahead of the Games' opening ceremony.
The team, considered one of the more intriguing stories in the Israeli delegation, was established at the initiative of a visionary American Jew who managed to bring together Hebrew-speaking local athletes for the unconventional sport, including a former rugby player. Last week the team visited Israel after securing its Olympic qualification, and it is now holding a training camp in the Czech Republic ahead of its departure to the Olympic Village in Cortina.