Israeli Olympic Bobsled Team Defies Hate with Victor Mentality

As the 2026 Winter Olympics unfold, Israel’s first-ever Olympic bobsled team is doing far more than making history they’re making a statement. Facing antisemitic slurs, acts of vandalism, and open hostility across Europe, the team is choosing not to play the victim. Instead, they’ve embraced the powerful mindset of victors.

Team captain Adam Edelman, speaking with Fox News Digital, recounted how just days before competition, the team’s hotel room in Prague was burglarized and vandalized. “They were sending messages that I didn’t understand,” Edelman said. “They were like, ‘The place is turned over, someone showered and stole our stuff.’ I honestly thought it was a joke at first.”

But Edelman and his teammates didn’t let it derail them. “It was just another Tuesday for us,” he said. “You feel very violated in your space, but I told the guys, this is who we are. Whether it was targeted or not – and I think it was – we’re moving on.”

The team’s resilience is no accident. Representing Israel on the global stage means weathering more than just icy turns and steep tracks. Edelman described the emotional toll of repeated incidents from being denied lodging in Germany on Christmas Eve after staff learned they were Jewish, to having a swastika drawn on their team vehicle, and even being called “baby killers” by another Olympic athlete.

Yet through every insult, the team has responded not with anger, but with strength and even humor. They’ve embraced the nickname “Shul Runnings,” a playful nod to Cool Runnings, the classic film about Jamaica’s Olympic bobsled team. It’s a symbol of the team’s pride in their identity and their refusal to be shamed by hate.

“There’s a lot that goes into representing Israel,” Edelman said. “But the great thing about it is you learn to take a mindset that is one of a victor, not a victim. If you truly view yourself as being on a good mission, then those moments don’t mean so much.”

Now, with Olympic competition underway, Edelman is preparing for his final run. “I’m retiring. This is my final Games,” he revealed. “Everything we’ve done will end for us in two weeks. But the team will live on, and what it accomplished will live on.”

In his view, that legacy is more important than medals. It’s about standing tall under the Israeli flag, refusing to be silenced, and showing the world what it truly means to represent the Jewish state with courage and conviction.

“In a couple of weeks, no one is going to remember our names,” Edelman said. “But they’re going to remember that the Israeli bobsled team made it, and that’s going to have ripple effects far beyond our personal lives.”

Through adversity, Team Israel has already won. Their presence on the ice speaks volumes, louder than hate, stronger than fear.

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