Israel’s four-man bobsled squad was pulled from competition at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday after its national committee discovered that an athlete had falsely claimed to be unwell.
The scheme involved team member Uri Zisman pretending he was too ill to compete, which would have permitted reserve Ward Fawarseh to take his place for the final run.
Zisman underwent a medical examination and even signed a sworn statement declaring his unfitness to race, all to facilitate the substitution.
Bobsled regulations only permit line-up changes when a competitor is genuinely injured or sick.
The Olympic Committee of Israel acted swiftly once officials learned of the deception, immediately suspending the team from Sunday’s competition on the closing day of the Games.
The motivation behind the rule-breaking was to make history.
Fawarseh, had he competed, would have become the first Druze Israeli athlete ever to participate in the Olympic Games.
The Druze are an ethnically Arab minority in Israel who practise a faith derived from Islam.
Israel’s four-man bobsled squad was pulled from competition at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics
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Team pilot Adam Edelman explained the reasoning on his X account, noting that after recording the slowest times in Saturday’s opening heats, their finishing position was essentially predetermined.
He wrote: “It was more important to us that our alternate could have the opportunity to compete in the Olympics.”
Edelman accepted full responsibility for authorising the plan, he said: “I will always remain proud that the team looked at their Druze brother, who had earned his place on the team, and unanimously said ‘we want this for you.'”
The Olympic Committee of Israel issued a stern rebuke of the athletes’ conduct.
In their statement, officials declared that the team had sought to make a substitution “in an improper manner that does not meet the standards expected of Olympic athletes and is not in line with Olympic values.”
The scheme involved team member Uri Zisman pretending he was too ill to compete
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The committee emphasised that any departure from Olympic principles was unacceptable and that inappropriate behaviour would not be tolerated.
A comprehensive investigation will be undertaken once the delegation returns home following the conclusion of the Games.
Notably, the athletes themselves consented to their immediate suspension from competition.
The committee was careful to acknowledge that prior to this incident, the bobsled team had competed without any infractions and in keeping with sporting principles.
The suspension capped a turbulent fortnight for Edelman at these Games.
Team pilot Adam Edelman explained the reasoning on his X account
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Two weeks earlier, he revealed on social media that burglars had targeted the apartment where the team was staying during their pre-Games training camp in the Czech Republic, stealing passports and personal items valued at thousands of dollars.
During the two-man bobsled event, Swiss broadcaster RTS commentator Stefan Renna drew controversy by focusing his commentary on Edelman’s political views rather than his athletic performance.
The clip was subsequently removed from the broadcaster’s website after circulating widely online.
Italian state broadcaster RAI also apologised on Saturday after viewers heard an off-camera remark during the four-man bobsled heats: “Let’s avoid crew 21, which is Israeli.”
RAI Sport’s interim director, Marco Lollobrigida, extended “sincere apologies” and announced internal investigations.
