Winter Olympics: Israel’s bobsleigh team disqualified after faked illness claim, captain Edelman insists ‘withdrawal’

WEB DESK: Israel’s Olympic bobsleigh team has been disqualified from the four-man event at the 2026 Winter Games after an athlete admitted to falsely claiming illness to facilitate a substitution, despite pilot AJ Edelman initially suggesting on X that the team had voluntarily withdrawn.

According to a report by The Times of Israel, the Olympic Committee of Israel (OCI) barred the team from completing its final run after determining that one member feigned a medical issue to allow alternate Ward Fawarseh to compete.

Substitution bid unravelled after admission

Israel had competed in the first two heats of the four-man event at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo with Edelman, Menachem Chen, Uri Zisman and Omer Katz. Official schedules later showed Fawarseh listed for the final run in place of Zisman.

Under Olympic rules, substitutions are permitted only in cases of verified injury or illness. The OCI said one athlete, encouraged by teammates, declared himself unwell, underwent medical checks and signed an affidavit to support the request.

However, Zisman later acknowledged to delegation officials that the claim was untrue. The OCI subsequently rescinded the substitution request and disqualified the team, calling the conduct inconsistent with fair play.

Edelman says team ‘withdrew’

In a statement posted on social media, Edelman wrote that because the team was not in medal contention, it wanted its alternate to experience Olympic competition. He added that the circumstances surrounding the attempted change did not meet required standards and said the team withdrew from the final heat.

Israeli officials, however, clarified that the withdrawal followed the admission of misconduct and formal disqualification.

Had Fawarseh competed, he would have become Israel’s first Druze Olympian at a Winter Games.

Controversy follows historic debut

The team had already drawn significant attention in Cortina, marking Israel’s first-ever Olympic bobsleigh appearance and one of its few Winter Games team entries.

After two heats, Israel ranked 24th out of 27 sleds, outside the top 20 required to advance to the fourth and final run.

The squad’s presence had sparked debate earlier in the Games, including criticism from European broadcasters over political commentary aired during coverage of Israel’s runs.

The 2026 Winter Olympics conclude on Sunday, bringing to an end a turbulent campaign for Israel’s trailblazing, and now disqualified, bobsleigh team.