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AJ Edelman didn’t believe the news when he heard it.
The first-ever Israeli bobsleigh team to compete in the Olympics, which he leads, was the victim of break-ins and vandalism just days before the competition began. Edelman, who was in Venice, Italy, at the time, found out in a text message from his teammates, who were at the Prague hotel.
“It was messages that I didn’t understand, it was something that I couldn’t fathom. They were like, ‘Hey, the place is turned upside down. Someone showered and stole our stuff,’ and I was like, ‘What the hell doesn’t make sense.’ At first I thought it was a joke,” Edelman told PK Press Club Digital.
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“We took our fingerprints and everything, they went through the whole process of a serious break-in.”
Once the situation settled, they realized they were ready to manage and overcome. This was the sort of thing they were used to.
“It was just another Tuesday for us,” Edelman said.
“One of the things that we all came together and realized is that we’re just moving forward. Every step of the journey is another step towards the goal. And we haven’t reached the goal yet. The goal is never to qualify, the goal is to make the Olympics…
“It was a blatant violation, you feel very violated in your space, but I just told them ‘hey guys, it’s just who we are, we just need to move on. Whether it was targeted or not, I think it was targeted, but whatever happens, we’re moving on.’
The team clinched the country’s first-ever Winter Olympics berth in bobsleigh after missing a chance to compete in Beijing in 2022 by 0.01 seconds during qualifying. But athletes literally had to fight a war before getting another chance on the world stage.
After the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, many athletes were called to serve in the national army.
Edelman himself has had to live below the poverty line in order to maintain his commitment to leading the team for the past 12 years. An MIT graduate, Edelman had to sell his bitcoin, which he said would be worth millions today if he kept it.
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Israeli bobsleigh team members, from left, Uri Zisman, Omer Katz, AJ Edelman, Ward Farwaseh, Itamar Shprinz, pose at the Israeli Olympic Committee headquarters, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Tel Aviv, Israel, before their departure for the 2026 Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Julia Frankel)
And during this time, he and his teammates had to deal with many other cases similar to the recent burglary.
“We were refused entry to Germany because it was Christmas Eve and they saw that we were Jewish. Another athlete competing in the Games this time actually 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’s a lot that goes into representing Israel. But the good thing about representing Israel, and I think it’s very important, is that you learn to adopt a mindset that is that of a victor and not a victim… if you’re a victor and you really consider yourself to be on a mission… then those moments, they don’t mean much.”
Edelman even has sympathy for the perpetrators of the recent burglary and vandalism against his team.
“It’s pretty sad. I’m not in their shoes. I don’t know if this is driven by necessity or need, or by what’s going on. But I hope you get better. I really hope your life changes,” Edelman said. “Those are things we can replace. But if it requires you to do what you did, I just hope you get help.”
Edelman and his teammates will look to inspire the rest of their country, especially young Israelis who aspire to do something improbable.
Israel has never fielded an Olympic bobsleigh team before, and in a highly resource-dependent sport, the likelihood of such a thing happening was low.
They nicknamed their team “Shul Runnings,” putting a Hebrew spin on the popular 1993 film “Cool Runnings” about the first Jamaican bobsleigh team to compete in the Olympics.
Edelman’s brother, Alex, is a popular American comedian, and they discussed the name years ago.
“I think so,” AJ said of whoever came up with the name, “He then put it into his show, into his HBO special.”
But even after overcoming off-track obstacles and adversity, Edelman maintains a rational expectation of how his team will perform.
He does not expect them to reach the podium, but aspire to make the top 20, which he believes will set an inspiring precedent for other Israelis aspiring to compete in cold weather sports.
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Israel’s flag bearer Mariia Seniuk arrives during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, February 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
“One thing I try to tell my boys is that in a few weeks, no one will remember our names. No one knows our name now. But they will remember that the Israeli bobsled team was successful, and that will have ripple effects far beyond what we experience personally in our lives,” Edelman said.
“Everything we’ve done will end for us in two weeks…I’m retiring, these are my last games, but the team will live, and what they’ve accomplished will live on.”
