Israeli bobsled captain opens up on team overcoming burglary and vandalism to make history in Winter Olympics

AJ Edelman didn't judge the quality erstwhile helium heard it. 

The archetypal ever Israeli bobsled squad to marque the Olympics, that helium captains, was the unfortunate of burglary and vandalism conscionable days earlier they were acceptable to compete. Edelman, who was successful Venice, Italy, astatine the time, recovered retired successful a substance from his teammates, who were astatine the edifice successful Prague. 

"It was messages that I didn't understand, it's thing that I couldn't conceive of. They were like, ‘hey the spot is turned over. Someone showered and stole our stuff,’ and I was like, ‘What that doesn’t marque sense.' I thought it was a gag astatine first," Edelman told Fox News Digital. 

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"We got fingerprinted and everything, they went done the full process of a superior break-in."

Once the concern settled in, it was thing they realized they were prepared to grip and overcome. It was the benignant of happening they were utilized to. 

"It was conscionable different Tuesday for us," Edelman said. 

"One of the things that we've each travel unneurotic and realized is we conscionable determination forward. Every azygous measurement of the travel is different measurement toward the goal. And we haven't reached the extremity yet. The extremity is ne'er qualification, the extremity is to vie astatine the Olympic Games … 

"It was a gross violation, you consciousness precise violated successful your space, but I conscionable told them ‘hey guys, this is conscionable who we are, we conscionable got to determination on. Whether it was targeted, not targeted, I deliberation it was targeted, but nary substance what, we're moving on." 

The squad clinched the nation's archetypal ever bobsled wintertime Olympic spot aft missing retired connected a accidental to vie successful Beijing successful 2022 by 0.01 2nd successful the qualifiers. But the athletes virtually had to a combat a warfare earlier getting different accidental astatine the satellite stage. 

After the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks connected Israel, galore of the athletes were called to service successful the nation's military.

Edelman himself had to unrecorded beneath the poorness enactment successful bid to support his committedness to starring the squad for the past 12 years. An MIT grad, Edelman had to merchantability his bitcoin, which helium says would person been worthy millions contiguous if helium held onto it. 

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Members of Israel's bobsledding team, from left, Uri Zisman, Omer Katz, AJ Edelman, Ward Farwaseh, Itamar Shprinz, airs astatine the Israel Olympic Committee headquarters, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, successful Tel Aviv, Israel, earlier their departure for the 2026 Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Julia Frankel)

And each the while, helium and his teammates had to look galore different instances akin to the caller burglary. 

"We've been turned distant from staying from places successful Germany due to the fact that it was Christmas Eve and they saw that we're Jewish. Another jock who is competing successful The Games this clip really said that helium wouldn't ever vie connected this squad due to the fact that Israel is simply a clump of ‘baby killers.’ A swastika was drawn connected our squad van," Edelman said. 

"There's a batch of worldly that goes into representing Israel. But the large happening astir representing Israel, and I deliberation this is ace important, is you larn to instrumentality a mindset that is 1 of a victor not a victim… if you're a victor and you genuinely presumption yourself arsenic connected a bully ngo … past those moments, they don't mean truthful much." 

Edelman adjacent has sympathy for the perpetrators of the caller burglary and vandalism against his team. 

"It's beauteous sad. I'm not successful their shoes. I don't cognize if this is motivated by necessity oregon need, oregon what's going on. But I anticipation you get better. I truly anticipation that your beingness turns around," Edelman said. "These are things that we tin replace. But if that's compelling you to bash what you did, I conscionable anticipation you get help."

Edelman and his teammates volition beryllium looking to nonstop inspiration to the remainder of their country, particularly the young radical successful Israel who aspire to bash thing unlikely. 

Israel has ne'er fielded an Olympic bobsled squad before, and successful a athletics that is heavy babelike connected resources, the likelihood of it happening was low. 

They playfully dubbed their squad "Shul Runnings," putting a Hebrew-themed twist connected the fashionable 1993 movie "Cool Runnings" astir the archetypal Jamaican bobsled squad to marque the Olympics. 

Edelman's member Alex is simply a fashionable American comedian, and they went backmost and distant astir the sanction years ago. 

"I judge I did," AJ said of who came up with the name, "He past incorporated it into his show, into his HBO special." 

But adjacent aft overcoming the odds, and off-the-track adversity, Edelman is keeping a rational anticipation of however his squad volition perform. 

He does not expect that they volition scope the medal podium, but aspire to marque it into the apical 20, which helium believes volition acceptable an inspiring precedent for different Israelis aspiring to vie successful cold-weather sports.

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Israel's emblem bearer Mariia Seniuk arrives during the Olympic opening ceremonial astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics, successful Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

"One happening I effort to archer my boys, is that successful a mates weeks, nary 1 is going to retrieve our names. No 1 knows our sanction now. But they're going to retrieve that the Israeli bobsled squad made it, and it's going to person ripple effects acold beyond what we cognize personally successful our lives," Edelman said. 

"Everything that we've done is going to extremity for america successful 2 weeks … I'm retiring, this is my last games, but the squad is going to unrecorded on, and what it accomplished are going to unrecorded on." 

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