Israeli bobsled pilot says team apartment was robbed ahead of Milan Cortina Winter Olympics

An Israeli bobsled pilot says the apartment that he and some fellow Olympians have been using while finishing their training for the Milan Cortina Winter Games was robbed today, with passports and “thousands of dollars” worth of other items among what was taken.

Some members of the team still have not arrived in Italy for the Olympics yet and aren’t expected to leave their training base — the location of which the team did not disclose — until this coming week.

AJ Edelman, a former Olympic skeleton athlete who is now the driver for the Israeli bobsled team, says in a series of social media posts that the squad continued training even after police opened an investigation.

Edelman says how the team handled the day “is just such a fine example of how we push forward in difficult circumstances,” he writes on X. “Such a gross violation — suitcases, shoes, equipment, passports stolen, and the boys headed right back to training today. I really believe this team exemplifies the Israeli Spirit.”

The Israeli Olympic Committee does not have any immediate comment

Israel is competing in bobsled at the Olympics for the first time, qualifying for the games after Britain decided not to take one of its two allocated spots for Milan Cortina. Israel was next in line and accepted the offer to compete when the last Olympic slots opened.

When reached by the AP, Edelman says he is in Italy, not at the site of the robbery. He says team coach Itamar Shprinz, an Israeli cross-fit athlete, was there, but it is not clear whether Shprinz actually witnessed the robbery or was nearby when it occurred.