With the Winter Olympics in Milan‑Cortina set to begin in about two weeks, the Israeli delegation expanded Thursday evening with the addition of an unusual sport for the country — bobsled. The Olympic Committee of Israel received approval to increase the team size from five athletes to nine after the country's bobsled team met the qualification standard by finishing fifth in the North American Cup.
For the first time in history, Israel will be represented in Olympic bobsled, with team members AJ Edelman, Menachem Chen, Ward Fawarsy, Omer Katz, and Uri Zisman (alternate). Edelman had already met the qualification standard in the individual category earlier. The team is coached by Itamar Shprinz.
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Israel's bobsled team, led by American Jew AJ Edelman, is headed to the 2026 Winter Olympics
(Photo: Israeli Olympic Committee)
Just how remarkable is this achievement? Adelman — an American Jew — is the sport’s primary funder, and the team is made up of athletes from other disciplines who have committed fully to making the switch to bobsled.
Chen has been Israel’s national champion in shot put for the past five years. Shprinz also comes from track and field, as the Israeli national runner‑up in pole vault. Katz is a national crossfit champion and Israeli silver medalist in weightlifting in the up to 88 kg category. Zisman is a member of the Israeli national rugby team and, like Fawarsy, is a Druze athlete living in the village of Majd al‑Krum in the Lower Galilee.