Israel’s upbeat bobsleigh team wraps up 2-man event in last place

Israel’s 2-man bobsleigh team finishes in 26th and last place after completing its runs at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.

Team pilot AJ Edelman and brakeman Menachem Chen end up with a total time of 2:52.24 following three heats, putting them a little over 7 seconds off the leading team. Only the top 20 teams advance to the fourth heat later tonight, which will determine the medal winners.

“What we accomplished today — some kid is going to see in 10, 15, 20 years, and he’s going to be inspired by that to do his own journey,” Edelman tells the Israeli Sport5 channel shortly after finishing the race. “Israel’s in the Olympics, baby! We did something unbelievable in this sport, to do it by ourselves, piecing it together.”

The Israelis’ Olympic run is not over yet, as the four-man bobsleigh team — also led by Edelman and considered their stronger event — will hit the ice on Saturday and Sunday.

“We’re really looking forward to the four-man, because that’s where the team shines,” Edelman says.

The team met controversy earlier this week when a commentator for the Swiss broadcaster RTS questioned Edelman’s participation in the Olympics due to what he termed the athlete’s “support of genocide in Gaza.”

That segment was later taken off of RTS’s website, and Edelman brushed off the criticism, praising his team for “working together toward an incredible goal and crushing it.”