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AJ Edelman didn’t believe the news when he heard it.
The first Israeli bobsled team to reach the Olympics, which he manages, was the victim of theft and vandalism just days before they began competing. Edelman, who was in Venice, Italy at the time, found out via text message from his teammates, who were at their hotel in Prague.
“They were messages that I didn’t understand, it’s something I couldn’t conceive. They told me, ‘Hey, the place is upside down. Someone took a shower and stole our things,’ and I said, ‘That doesn’t make sense.’ At first I thought it was a joke,” Edelman told Pak Gazette Digital.
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“They took our fingerprints and everything, they went through the whole process of a serious robbery.”
Once the situation calmed down, they realized they were prepared to handle and overcome. It was the kind of thing they were used to.
“For us it was just another Tuesday,” Edelman said.
“One of the things we’ve all come together and realized is that we’re just moving forward. Every step of the journey is another step toward the goal. And we haven’t reached the goal yet. The goal is never qualification, the goal is to compete in the Olympic Games…
“It was a serious violation, you feel very violated in your space, but I just said, ‘Hey guys, this is who we are, we just have to move forward. Whether it was a target or not, I think it was a target, but no matter what happens, we’ll move forward.’
The team clinched the country’s first Olympic winter bobsled berth after missing out on the chance to compete in Beijing in 2022 by 0.01 seconds in the qualifiers. But the athletes literally had to fight a war before they got another chance on the world stage.
Following the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, many of the athletes were called up to serve in the nation’s military.
Edelman himself had to live below the poverty line in order to maintain his commitment to leading the team for the past 12 years. Edelman, an MIT graduate, had to sell his bitcoin, which he says would have been worth millions today if he had kept it.
TEAM USA NAMES FLAG BEARERS FOR 2026 WINTER OLYMPICS
Members of the Israel bobsled team, from left, Uri Zisman, Omer Katz, AJ Edelman, Ward Farwaseh, Itamar Shprinz, pose at the Israel Olympic Committee headquarters, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Tel Aviv, Israel, prior to their departure for the 2026 Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Julia Frankel)
And in the meantime, he and his teammates had to face many other cases similar to the recent robbery.
“We have been denied the chance to stay in places in Germany because it was Christmas Eve and they saw that we were Jewish. Another athlete who is competing in the Games this time said he would never compete on this team because Israel is a bunch of ‘baby killers’. A swastika was drawn on our team van,” Edelman said.
“There are a lot of things that go into representing Israel. But the best thing about representing Israel, and I think this is very important, is that you learn to adopt a victor mentality, not a victim mentality… if you are a victor and you really see yourself as being on a good mission… then those moments don’t mean much.”
Edelman even feels compassion for the perpetrators of the recent theft and vandalism against his team.
“It’s pretty sad. I’m not in his shoes. I don’t know if this is motivated by need or need or what’s going on. But I hope you get better. I really hope your life changes,” Edelman said. “These are things we can replace. But if it forces you to do what you did, I just hope you get help.”
Edelman and his teammates will look to send inspiration to the rest of their country, especially the young people of Israel who aspire to do something improbable.
Israel had never fielded an Olympic bobsled team before, and in a sport that is highly resource-dependent, the likelihood of that happening was low.
They jokingly called their team “Shul Runnings,” putting a Hebrew-themed spin on the popular 1993 film “Cool Runnings” about the first Jamaican bobsled team to reach the Olympics.
Edelman’s brother Alex is a popular American comedian and they were talking about that name years ago.
“I think so,” AJ said of who came up with the name, “Then he incorporated it into his show, into his HBO special.”
But even after overcoming the odds and adversity off the court, Edelman maintains a rational expectation of how his team will perform.
He doesn’t expect them to make the medal podium, but he aims to be in the top 20, which he believes will set an inspiring precedent for other Israelis who aspire to compete in cold-weather sports.
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Israel’s flag bearer Mariia Seniuk arrives during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
“One thing I try to tell my guys is that in a couple of weeks no one will remember our names. No one knows our names now. But they will remember that the Israeli bobsled team did it and it will have ripple effects far beyond what we know personally in our lives,” Edelman said.
“Everything we’ve done will be over for us in two weeks… I’m retiring, these are my last games, but the team will still be alive and what they achieved will still be alive.”
