Israel produced memories and exposed some haters during the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina but, as expected, did not bring home any medals.
And arguably the most celebrated story out of the 10-person team, the five “Shul Runnings” bobsledders, ended in controversy February 22, the final day of the Games.
The four-man bobsled team sat in 24th, ahead only of three teams that crashed out of the competition, after the first two runs February 21. After the third run February 22, just the top 20 sleds got to make the fourth and final run. Trailing two teams tied for 20th by 0.7 second, Israel had no realistic opportunity to make the top 20, so its third run was all but certain to be its last.
Team pilot AJ Edelman posted on social media that he and the other three men on the sled agreed that they wanted to be sure the team alternate, Ward Fawarseh, would make that third run and thus become the first Israeli Druze to compete in the Olympics. But the rules allowed a substitution only in case of illness or injury for a team member, and all were healthy.
So one member, Uri Zisman, faked an illness, seeing a doctor and signing an affidavit that he was not well enough to compete. But Zisman admitted the truth to the head of the Israeli delegation, and Israel’s Olympic Committee withdrew the substitution request and disqualified the team for improper behavior “against fair and sportsmanlike conduct.”
“I apologize profusely for the disappointment,” Edelman wrote on X. “But I will always remain proud that the team looked at their Druze brother, who had earned his place on the team, and unanimously said ‘we want this for you.’ I signed off on it and I take responsibility.”
The Israeli sledders already were the center of controversies regarding broadcasters. Italy’s public broadcaster, RAI, apologized February 21 after an off-screen but on-air commentator advised making no mention of the Israeli sled.
That was less severe than what happened during the two-man bobsled competition February 16. During the Israeli team’s first run, a commentator for Radio Television Suisse spent two minutes criticizing Israel’s participation and accusing Edelman of supporting “genocide in Gaza.”
Edelman and Menachem Chen finished 26th of 26 in the two-man bobsled.
(Note that Jewish sports fans had cause for celebration on the Winter Olympics’ final day: Jewish hockey player Jack Hughes scored the winning goal in overtime to give the United States the gold against Canada. His brother Quinn scored the overtime winner in the quarterfinals against Sweden four days earlier. On the women’s side, Jewish goalie Aerin Frankel had 30 saves in Team USA’s gold-medal-winning game against Canada on February 19.)
In other events for Team Israel in Italy:
• Jared Firestone was 22nd in men’s skeleton.
• Mariia Seniuk finished 24th in women’s figure skating after sitting in 22nd after the short program.
• Attila Kertesz was 110th in the 10km men’s cross-country skiing.
• Noa Szollos was among 42 skiers who didn’t finish the slalom but was 35th in the giant slalom.
• Barnabas Szollos, who carried the Israeli flag in the closing ceremony and is Noa’s older brother, was 26th in the slalom (only 39 of 96 skiers even finished two runs), 30th in the downhill, 33rd in the super-giant slalom and 41st in the giant slalom.
Israel has won 20 medals while competing in every Summer Olympics since 1952 but has competed in the Winter Games only since 1994 and has never done better than sixth in any event. Israel has never sent more than 10 athletes to the Winter Olympics but had 88 competing in the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024.
— Michael Jacobs, February 22, 2026
