Last at halfway, smiling at the finish: Israel’s first Olympic bobsled run

Israeli Bobsled Team Makes Historic Olympic Debut Despite Last Place Standing

Despite finishing last in the Olympic two-man bobsled competition at the Milan Cortina Games, AJ Edelman and Menachem Chen of Israel celebrated a victory of a different kind on Monday – becoming the first Israeli bobsled team to compete in Olympic history.

The duo finished their first two heats nearly five seconds behind German leader Johannes Lochner, an enormous gap in a sport where medals are often decided by hundredths of a second. They recorded both the slowest starts and slowest finishes in both heats, yet their spirits remained undiminished.

“We are victors,” Edelman declared. “Not victims.”

For Edelman, a Boston native who previously made history as Israel’s first Olympic skeleton competitor at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, the journey to this moment has been filled with financial hurdles and logistical challenges. Sliding sports require significant investment, with limited financial returns even for elite athletes. The Israeli team operates without a full-time coach and barely secured their Olympic berth after a tense qualification period.

Their Olympic preparation faced additional adversity when a robbery occurred at the apartment they were using as a training base before arriving in Italy. Yet these obstacles only strengthened their resolve to represent their nation on the global stage.

“It is the greatest thing in the world to see your country represented,” said Edelman, who leapt from his sled in celebration after completing his runs. “Some kid’s going to see that, and they’re going to go, ‘You know what, I can start no worse than that guy, but I can do a lot better than that guy.’ And he’s going to start his journey.”

Israel has sent ten athletes to the Milan Cortina Olympics, with six competing in sliding events. Their participation comes during a challenging period when Israel’s presence in international sports has faced boycotts and criticism over the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has resulted in significant Palestinian casualties and humanitarian concerns.

The team’s Olympic aspirations were never about competing for medals, but rather about ensuring representation. This sentiment was echoed by Israeli skeleton athlete Jared Firestone, who competed earlier in the Games.

“I’m just here to make everybody watching proud, to represent not just Israel but all Jewish people around the world,” said Firestone, who balances his athletic career with his work as an attorney in South Florida.

Edelman, believed to be the first Orthodox Jew to compete in the Winter Games, has been instrumental in building Israel’s sliding program from the ground up. He recruited a diverse group of athletes, including a rugby player and three track and field competitors, to help establish the national team. While mathematically unlikely to advance to the final round of the two-man event, Edelman and Chen will compete in their third run on Tuesday.

Later this week, Edelman will also lead Israel’s entry in the four-man bobsled competition. He admits to nearly abandoning his Olympic ambitions several times, crediting his mother with providing the encouragement to persevere.

“We always want to be the first but not the last,” Edelman reflected. “I was very sure that, if we didn’t get it done, there would never be an Israeli bobsled team in the Games, because no one was going to fight for that. Now we’ve set a precedent. Others can come after us.”

The significance of their participation transcends the competition itself. By breaking this barrier, Edelman and his teammates have created a pathway for future generations of Israeli winter sport athletes – proving that sometimes the most important victories aren’t measured by medals, but by milestones.