February 08, (THEWILL) — The Israeli bobsled team has been struck by theft during final preparations for the Milan Cortina Winter Games, with captain Adam Edelman confirming that passports and personal belongings worth thousands of dollars were stolen from their accommodation on Saturday. The robbery took place whilst the squad trained in the Czech Republic before travelling to Italy.
Edelman disclosed the incident on X, sharing an image that appeared to show someone being fingerprinted. Local police are investigating the matter. Edelman was in Italy at the time of the burglary, whilst team coach Itamar Shprinz was present at the training base. Not all squad members have reached Italy, with some remaining at an undisclosed location and due to travel later this week.
Writing on social media, Edelman said the team exemplified how they push forward in difficult circumstances despite the violation. He revealed that the athletes returned to training immediately after the incident. Edelman, who competed in skeleton at the 2018 PyeongChang Games, is believed to be the first Orthodox Jew to take part in a Winter Olympics.
Israel’s Olympic participation occurs while the nation faces boycotts and criticism over its military actions in Gaza and the resulting humanitarian crisis. Edelman said that assembling the team and obtaining financial backing had been lengthy processes, but representing his country was the honour of a lifetime.
Edelman will pilot both Israeli sleds in the two-man and four-man bobsled events. Menachem Chen will push in the two-man race, whilst Ward Fawarseh and Omer Katz join for the four-man competition. Most team members had never ridden in a bobsled before this season. The full squad of Edelman, Katz, Fawarseh, Chen and Uri Zisman begins official training in Cortina d’Ampezzo on Thursday.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
