They are absolutely incredible, terrific guys,” says the Orthodox Jewish athlete. “I’m a firm believer in the meritocracy of sports and I found them by searching for high-quality rugby players. “After three trips down the track I decided it’s a natural sport for me.”Įdelman will pilot his sleigh with teammates handpicked from Israel’s Arab Druze community: Moran Nijem, Amir Fawarsy and Ward Fawarsy. It’s more fun and far easier than skeleton because I can see where I’m going,” he says. “I’d tried bobsled last year and got a great scouting report. (He’s even auctioning his Olympic ring on eBay to try and cover the six-figure loans he has taken this year to support the team.) Not as a skeleton athlete but as a bobsled pilot. Last April, Edelman took a leave of absence from his MBA program at Yale to devote all his energy – and money - to preparing for the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games. “And I realized that Israel has an amazing opportunity when athletes compete to represent the country.” “The note said that I inspired her,” says Edelman. And then he saw a sticky note placed on his luggage by an anonymous Korean at the airport. Unfortunately, Edelman was eliminated in the third round, and considered quitting permanently. “I designed a skeleton suit that could not be photographed from any angle without seeing the word ‘Israel’ or the Jewish star,” he says. He would never wear a borrowed uniform again. He trained at the Wingate Institute, won four Israeli national titles and earned a berth at the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea. He flew to Calgary weekly to improve his performance, guided by YouTube tutorials because he couldn’t afford a coach.Įdelman made Aliyah in 2016. The MIT graduate from Massachusetts was then working at Oracle in California. I finished more than 18 seconds behind the victor, and I broke some ribs,” Edelman recalls. So he competed in borrowed gear: a Panamanian uniform, an Italian helmet, and mismatched shoes from an Australian athlete, Heath Spence, who would later hold Edelman’s sled at the 2018 Winter Olympics. It looked really bad and the race director said it was an embarrassment,” Edelman told ISRAEL21c. “I had no equipment, not even a jacket, so I went to Walmart and picked up a blue fleece and drew a Star of David on it with a Sharpie. He’d only begun training on his 23rd birthday the previous March and the opportunity came up suddenly.
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/sports/sochi2014/luge/2014/02/14/pushing_rules_often_part_of_the_game_in_luge_bobsleigh_and_skeleton_coaches_athletes_say/bobsleigh.jpg "bobsled vs skeleton")
The former ice-hockey goalie and speed skater was a novice at this winter sliding sport when he agreed to compete in the North American Cup in Park City, Utah, in November 2014. Sports in Israel| Jewish Athletes & Sports Figures| Jewish Olympic MedalistsĪJ Edelman at the 2016 World ChampionshipsĪdam “AJ” Edelman’s first skeleton race representing the Israel Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation was a disaster.
0 kommentar(er)
