Israel's Adam Edelman slows down at the end of the men's skeleton heat 2 during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games on February 15, 2018. (AFP/Mark Ralston)
Israel’s AJ Edelman was eliminated from the Men’s Skeleton event at the Winter Olympics on Thursday in the third round, falling short of his goal of making the fourth and final run.
Edelman finished the third run in 28th position in a time of 52.35 seconds, which was 2.17 seconds slower than leader Yun Sungbin of Korea.
Only the top 20 qualify for the fourth and final round, which he had set as his personal goal.
“I want to get a fourth run,” Edelman said before the event. “That’s my gold medal, a fourth run.”
Still, even being there was an amazing achievement.
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Adam “The Hebrew Hammer” Edelman, became Israel’s first Olympic skeleton athlete and was visibly moved and in tears as he waved to the crowd after finishing his last run.
Israel’s Adam Edelman competes in the men’s skeleton heat 3 run during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, February 16, 2018. (AFP/Mark Ralston)
The event saw a number of athletes from countries without winter sport traditions, and Edelman finished ahead of the competitors from Jamaica and Ghana.
It’s been a strange road for Edelman, an Orthodox Jews originally from Brookline, Massachusetts, who grew up as a star hockey player. He has had to dedicate all of his spare time and $100,000 to make it there.
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He was all-in for the last couple years, now calls Israel home and got to Pyeongchang without even a full-time coach. He’s received some help from teams and coaches, but nothing on an everyday basis.
Agencies contributed to this report
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