Adam Edelman, is an American-Israeli four-time Israeli National Champion in the skeleton event who competed for Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Edelman is the first Orthodox Jew to compete in the Winter Olympics, and the first Orthodox Jewish male to compete in either Olympic iteration. He is an outspoken supporter of anti-bullying and mental health initiatives, having suffered from depression as a result of prolonged bullying in middle school. Originally a hockey player, Edelman switched to skeleton despite his initial scouting reports indicating that he would "never be competitive" in the sport, and would "make it down the track but that'll be the most of it." Edelman is currently head of development and programming for the Israel Bobsled and Skeleton team, and bobsled trainee.
Edelman was "bullied pretty mercilessly" at a young age, "leaving deep scars that last until today." He often speaks about his experiences with bullying, depression, and mental health. He is an outspoken supporter of anti-bullying and mental health initiatives. Edelman's motivation for continuing in sport was motivated in large by a desire "to use my Olympic journey as a platform to promote further Jewish and Israeli involvement in sport."
Sports career
Hockey
Edelman's first sport was ice hockey, which he began playing at age three, as a goaltender. He continued to play hockey through high school for the Brookline Warriors hockey team and at MIT, where he was the program's first ever sabbath observant player. Edelman helped the MIT Engineers win two divisional championships in the Northeast Collegiate Hockey Association Division II league.
Bodybuilding
Edelman competed as an NGA accredited bodybuilder, placing in a top-3 medal finish at the 2014 NGA Annapolis Bodybuilding Championships.
Edelman tried skeleton for the first time at the Olympic facilities in Lake Placid, NY in March, 2014 where he was given an assessment that he was "not equipped for " and would "never be truly competitive." The Israeli team was similarly told that Edelman would "get down the track but that’ll be the most of it." Nevertheless, Edelman set out a goal of qualifying Israel for the 2022 Olympics. In his first race at the 2014 North American Cup, Edelman finished 18.64 seconds behind the race winner, and after hearing another athlete indicate that given his poor performance Edelman would quit within 2 years, decided to focus on making the 2018 Olympics, rather than 2022. In the 2018 Olympic qualification season, on the same track, facing the same race winner, Edelman had cut this deficit to 1.19 seconds, just.2 seconds out of a medal position. In 2016, he decided to quit the sport and return to work, but changed his mind at the last minute and decided to train full-time, resigning from his job as Product Manager at Oracle. Lacking funds, Edelman could not afford a coach and was self-taught.. He reinforced his learning of the sport by watching nearly 12 hours of YouTube video daily. Edelman entered the final days of 2018 Olympic qualification outside of qualification position, needing 2 medal performances in the Lake Placid North American Cup races to jump up the ranking table. He secured Israel's first sliding sport Olympic berth by medalling in both races. Edelman competed in 2 World Championships for Israel, and retired from skeleton as Israel's most decorated slider, winning four Israeli national titles and two medals in IBSF-sanctioned international competition. Post-skeleton he has dedicated his efforts to qualifying an Israeli Bobsled team for the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Edelman competed for Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, finishing in 28th place. Edelman is a recipient of Jew in the City's Orthodox Jewish All Star award. Some of his equipment is on display at the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in Commack, NY.
