By: Fern Sidman

In the thin mountain air of northern Italy, where elite winter athletes refine their craft amid ice and steel, a jarring violation punctured what was meant to be a final, focused chapter of preparation for Israel’s historic Olympic debut in bobsled. Over the weekend, the apartment used by members of Israel’s national bobsled team during their closing training phase ahead of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics was burglarized, with thieves making off with passports, suitcases, shoes, and thousands of dollars’ worth of specialized equipment and personal belongings. The incident, confirmed publicly by team pilot AJ Edelman, has reverberated well beyond the confines of a single training base, casting a stark light on the vulnerabilities elite athletes face even as they attempt to insulate themselves from the distractions of the outside world.

According to a report that appeared on Saturday by VIN News, Edelman was not present at the apartment when the break-in occurred. He was elsewhere in Italy, attending to logistical matters related to the team’s broader training itinerary. The theft was discovered by those on site, among them team coach Itamar Shprinz, though it remained unclear in the immediate aftermath whether Shprinz witnessed any aspect of the intrusion. Italian police opened an investigation, treating the burglary as a criminal matter without, at least initially, attaching any political or ideological motive to the crime.

Yet the symbolism of the theft proved difficult to ignore. For a delegation representing a nation whose presence on the international sporting stage has been subjected to heightened scrutiny amid the ongoing war in Gaza, the loss of passports and essential equipment carried an emotional resonance beyond its material cost. VIN News reported that among the items stolen were not only personal effects but also gear critical to training in one of the world’s most technically demanding winter sports, equipment that must often be custom-fitted to athletes’ bodies and meticulously calibrated to the contours of specific tracks. Replacing such items on short notice is rarely straightforward, particularly in the compressed timeline of Olympic qualification cycles.

Edelman’s public response, however, transformed what might have been a demoralizing episode into a testament of collective resolve. In posts shared on social media and amplified by VIN News, he described the burglary as a “gross violation,” yet emphasized the team’s decision to return immediately to training later that same day. “How we handled today is just such a fine example of how we push forward in difficult circumstances,” he wrote. “Suitcases, shoes, equipment, passports stolen, and the boys headed right back to training today. I really believe this team exemplifies the Israeli spirit.” The phrase captured a narrative of perseverance that has come to define Israel’s nascent winter sports program.

For Israel, the bobsled team’s journey to Milan Cortina is itself a story of improbable ascent. The country is set to compete in Olympic bobsled for the first time, a milestone made possible after Britain declined one of its allocated quota places, opening the door for Israel to accept an invitation when additional Olympic slots became available. VIN News has chronicled how this opportunity catalyzed a rapid mobilization of resources, talent identification, and international partnerships, enabling a nation without a deep domestic winter sports infrastructure to field a competitive sled on one of the sport’s grandest stages.

Edelman’s role within this narrative is particularly emblematic. A veteran of the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, where he competed in skeleton, he has become the linchpin of Israel’s bobsled ambitions, slated to pilot both the two-man and four-man sleds in Cortina. In the two-man event, he is expected to be joined by Menachem Chen, while Ward Fawarseh and Omer Katz are slated to complete the four-man lineup. The composition of the team reflects a blend of athletic backgrounds and diasporic ties, underscoring the globalized nature of modern Olympic preparation.

The timing of the burglary could hardly have been more disruptive. Official bobsled training in Cortina is scheduled to begin Thursday, marking the formal commencement of the team’s on-track preparations in the very venue that will host Olympic competition. In such high-stakes environments, continuity is paramount. Athletes spend months acclimating to specific sleds, runners, and protective gear, forging a tactile familiarity that translates into fractions of a second on the track—differences that often separate medal contenders from the rest of the field. The sudden loss of equipment, as the VIN News report observed, introduces an unwelcome variable into an already unforgiving equation.

Logistical challenges have compounded the situation. Some members of the Israeli bobsled contingent have yet to arrive in Italy and are expected to depart their undisclosed training base later in the week. The theft of passports raises immediate questions about documentation and travel continuity, though VIN News reported that emergency measures were being explored to ensure that affected athletes and staff could continue to move freely within Europe. The Israeli Olympic Committee, for its part, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, a silence that has left unanswered questions about the scope of institutional support available to the team in navigating the aftermath of the incident.

Beyond the practical ramifications, the burglary has prompted broader reflection on the security environment confronting Israeli athletes abroad. Participation in international sporting events has drawn heightened attention amid the war in Gaza, with Israeli teams often operating under increased security protocols. While there is no indication that the theft in Italy was politically motivated, the VIN News report has contextualized the episode within a climate in which Israeli delegations are acutely conscious of their visibility and vulnerability. The intrusion into a private training space, stripped of the usual trappings of Olympic pageantry and protection, served as a reminder that the pursuit of sporting excellence unfolds within an unpredictable social landscape.

Yet if the incident exposed fragility, it also illuminated fortitude. The decision to resume training immediately was not merely a pragmatic choice but a symbolic assertion of agency. In elite sport, the capacity to compartmentalize adversity—to absorb shocks without allowing them to metastasize into doubt—is often as critical as physical conditioning. Edelman’s invocation of the “Israeli spirit” resonated with a broader cultural narrative of resilience forged in the crucible of national adversity, a narrative that the bobsled team has, in its own way, come to embody.

The episode also underscores the peculiar vulnerabilities of emerging sports programs. Established winter sports nations operate within robust ecosystems of domestic facilities, sponsorship networks, and logistical infrastructures. Israel’s bobsled initiative, by contrast, is necessarily peripatetic, reliant on training bases abroad and the goodwill of international partners. The VIN News report emphasized that this dependence amplifies exposure to disruptions, whether in the form of bureaucratic hurdles, equipment shortages, or, as in this case, criminal intrusion. The burglary thus becomes a parable of the challenges faced by nations seeking to carve out a place in disciplines far removed from their climatic and cultural traditions.

As police continue their investigation and the team scrambles to replace essential items, the broader narrative remains one of determination rather than derailment. The athletes’ return to the ice on the very day of the theft sends a signal not only to competitors but to supporters watching from afar. As the games continue at Milan Cortina, the burglary will likely recede into the footnotes of Olympic lore. Yet for those who experienced it firsthand, the incident will endure as a moment when vulnerability met resolve, and when the quiet discipline of training prevailed over the chaos of intrusion.

In the unforgiving calculus of elite sport, preparation is often narrated in terms of marginal gains and meticulous planning. Rarely does it include the sudden loss of passports to unknown hands. Yet it is precisely in such unanticipated trials that the ethos of a team is revealed. For Israel’s bobsledders, the road to Cortina now carries an added chapter of adversity—one that, if Edelman’s words are any guide, will be folded into a larger story of perseverance, identity, and the relentless pursuit of excellence against the odds