Adam Edelman Explained

Adam Edelman
Native Name:אדם אדלמן
Native Name Lang:he
Full Name:Adam Jeremy Edelman
Nickname:A. J.
The Hebrew Hammer
Nationality:Israeli
Birth Date:March 14, 1991
Birth Place:Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Education:Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS)
Yale School of Management (MBA '23)
Years Active:2014–2018 (skeleton)
2019–present (bobsled)
Height:1.78 m
Weight:83 kg
Country:Israel
Coach:Self-coached

Adam Jeremy "A. J." Edelman (Hebrew: אדם ג'רמי אדלמן; born March 14, 1991) is an American-born Israeli sliding sports athlete. He is an eight-time Israeli National Champion in sliding sport (skeleton and Bobsleigh)[1] who competed for Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.[2] Edelman is the first Orthodox Jew to compete in the Winter Olympics, and the first Orthodox Jewish man to compete in either Olympic iteration.[3] In 2023, Edelman became the first ever Israeli to take a podium in a sanctioned Bobsled race and in March, 2024 became the first Israeli to secure the overall podium on the North American Cup.[4] Edelman is training for the 2026 Olympic Games.[5]

Biography

Adam Edelman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts.[6] He was raised in a Zionist, Modern Orthodox home by parents Cheryl (a lawyer) and Elazer Edelman (a biomedical engineer, physician, professor, and inventor).[7] He is the middle of three boys. His older brother is comedian Alex Edelman who helped found Off the Wall Comedy in Jerusalem.[8] [9]

Edelman graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2014 with a degree in mechanical engineering.[10] He was a member of the MIT Men's hockey team and a staff editorial columnist for the MIT newspaper, The Tech.[10] MIT President Rafael Reif's 2018 commencement address used Edelman's Olympic journey as a basis of his message to the graduating class.[11]

Edelman immigrated to Israel in 2016 and trained at Wingate Institute.[12] He is a dual American-Israeli citizen.[7] He is an MBA candidate at the Yale School of Management.[13]

Edelman is nicknamed the "Hebrew Hammer," a reference to the title character in the 2003 American comedy film The Hebrew Hammer.

Edelman has said he is a supporter of anti-bullying and mental health initiatives, and that his motivation for continuing in sport is largely a desire "to use my Olympic journey as a platform to promote further Jewish and Israeli involvement in sport."[14] He was named a 2021 European Forbes 30 Under 30 in the Sports and Games category for his efforts of using his platform to campaign against bullying and increase LGBTQ participation in sport.[15]

Sports career

Hockey

Edelman's first sport was ice hockey, which he began playing at age three, as a goaltender.[16] 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.[10] Edelman helped the MIT Engineers win two divisional championships in the Northeast Collegiate Hockey Association (NECHA) Division II league.

Bodybuilding

Edelman competed as an NGA accredited bodybuilder,[17] placing in a top-3 medal finish at the 2014 NGA Annapolis Bodybuilding Championships.[18]

Olympic sliding sports

Skeleton

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 would never be competitive.[19] The Israeli team was similarly told that Edelman would "get down the track but that’ll be the most of it."[20] Nevertheless, Edelman set out a goal of qualifying for the 2022 Olympics.[21] Lacking funds, Edelman could not afford a coach and was self-taught.[22] [23] [24] He reinforced his learning of the sport by watching nearly 12 hours of YouTube video daily.[25] [7] [26]

In his first race at the 2014 North American Cup, Edelman finished 18.64 seconds behind the race winner,[27] 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.[28] In the 2018 Olympic qualification season, Edelman had cut this deficit to 1.19 seconds, placing ninth.[29]

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 a product manager at Oracle.[30]

Edelman entered the final days of 2018 Olympic qualification outside of qualification position, needing two 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 earning a fifth place medal in both races.[31] [32]

Edelman competed for Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, finishing in 28th place.[33]

Edelman competed in two 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, the most of any Israeli sliding sport athlete.[34]

Bobsled

Post-skeleton, Edelman dedicated his efforts to qualifying an Israeli bobsled team for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.[35] Edelman recruited a team of that included both Arabs and Jews but fell .1 seconds short of qualification.[36] He is now focused on qualifying a team for the 2026 Olympics.

In 2023, five of Edelman's teammates were drafted to serve in the Israel Defense Forces in the Gaza War (2023-present). Edelman strung together a season by bringing in new athletes in each race for the IBSF North American Circuit, ultimately winning Israels first ever sanctioned Bobsleigh podium.[37] [38]

Edelman is a recipient of Jew in the City's Orthodox Jewish All Star award.[39] Some of his equipment is on display at the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in Commack, NY.[40]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Conversation with an Israeli Olympian - Form - Temple Shaaray Tefila . 2023-07-07 . shaaraytefilanyc.shulcloud.com.
  2. News: Blue-and-white delegation Pyeongchang reaches 10 athletes. Allon Sinai. The Jerusalem Post . January 21, 2018.
  3. Web site: AJ Edelman, The First Orthodox Jewish Male Olympian, Is Ready For Gold! – Jew in the City. Levine. Sara. January 18, 2018. Jew in the City. en-US. January 12, 2019. November 3, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181103210155/https://jewinthecity.com/2018/01/aj-edelman-the-first-orthodox-jewish-olympian-is-ready-for-gold/. dead.
  4. Web site: 2024-02-21 . Israel’s bobsled team pushing for Olympic glory amid Gaza war . 2024-02-22 . en-US.
  5. Web site: Wolkin. Joseph. Israel Is Kicking Off An Unlikely Bid To Qualify For 2022 Winter Olympics In Bobsled And Skeleton. September 9, 2020. Forbes. en.
  6. Web site: AJ Edelman, Israel National Skeleton Athlete . en-US . September 2, 2020.
  7. News: Trained on YouTube, a Bostonian Will Be Israel's First Olympian to Compete in the Games' Most Dangerous Sport. January 31, 2018. Haaretz. August 21, 2019. en.
  8. Web site: AJ Edelman, the First Orthodox Jewish Male Olympian, is Ready for Gold. Levine, Sara. January 17, 2018. Jew in the City. Edelman attended Maimonides Day School, where he and his older brother Alex, now a comedian in LA....
  9. News: Skeleton racer AJ Edelman living the dream at Olympics. Sullivan. Tara. February 14, 2018. Boston Globe. August 21, 2019.
  10. Web site: AJ Edelman '14 to represent Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Rungta. Ahaan. The Tech. en. August 21, 2019.
  11. Web site: MIT President L. Rafael Reif's charge to the Class of 2018 MIT EECS. www.eecs.mit.edu. October 14, 2019. October 14, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191014235448/https://www.eecs.mit.edu/news-events/announcements/mit-president-l-rafael-reifs-charge-class-2018. dead.
  12. https://www.israel21c.org/israels-bobsled-athletes-aim-to-go-where-no-israeli-has-gone-before/ Israel's bobsled athletes aim to go where no Israeli has gone before
  13. Web site: The First Orthodox Jewish Male Olympian Meets SCHA Students Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven. October 14, 2019. www.jewishnewhaven.org. en-US.
  14. Web site: AJ Edelman accepts the Jew in the City All Star Award. Josephs. Allison. February 12, 2019. YouTube. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200423035642/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOwhjYSlS24&gl=US&hl=en . April 23, 2020 .
  15. Web site: Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2021: Sports & Games. April 8, 2021. www.forbes.com.
  16. Web site: PyeongChang Skeleton – Results & Videos. April 10, 2019. International Olympic Committee. en. August 21, 2019.
  17. Web site: 'The Hebrew Hammer' set to make Israeli Olympic history. February 8, 2018. WFLA. en-US. October 14, 2019.
  18. Web site: 2014 N.G.A Drug-Free Annapolis Bodybuilding, Figure, Physique & Bikini Top 5 Results. ep.yimg.com. October 14, 2019. August 19, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160819205229/http://ep.yimg.com/ty/cdn/essentialfitness/2014AnnapolisTop5.htm. dead.
  19. Web site: Gonzalez. Susan. January 14, 2020. Yalies make their mark as 'human bullets'. December 3, 2020. YaleNews. en.
  20. News: Hudes . Sammy . February 26, 2018 . First Israeli skeleton Olympian's track slid through Calgary . . September 2, 2020. en.
  21. Web site: A.J. Edelman Goes For Gold. January 29, 2018. Tablet Magazine. en. October 14, 2019.
  22. Web site: 8 ways YouTube is changing sports fandom (for the better). Think with Google. en-gb. October 14, 2019.
  23. Web site: 2018 Winter Olympics: AJ Edelman, an Orthodox Jew, is Israel's first skeleton athlete. Mic. en. October 14, 2019.
  24. Web site: Olympian's North Shore ties. Jewish Independent. en-CA. October 14, 2019.
  25. Web site: MIT alumnus to compete in Winter Olympics. MIT News. October 14, 2019.
  26. Web site: 2024-02-21 . Israel’s bobsled team pushing for Olympic glory amid Gaza war . 2024-02-22 . en-US.
  27. Web site: IBSF – International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation. www.ibsf.org. en-gb. October 14, 2019.
  28. Web site: The Hebrew Hammer's Amazing Path to the Winter Olympics. Simmons. Rabbi Shraga. aishcom. February 14, 2018. en. October 14, 2019.
  29. Web site: IBSF – International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation. www.ibsf.org. en-gb. March 2, 2020.
  30. News: First Israeli skeleton Olympian's track slid through Calgary. February 26, 2018. Calgary Herald. February 26, 2018. en-US.
  31. Web site: MIT alumnus to compete in Winter Olympics. December 3, 2020. MIT News. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. en.
  32. Web site: Webster. Riley. November 16, 2020. This Yale MBA Student Is Close To Making Olympic History — Again. December 3, 2020. Poets&Quants. en-US.
  33. Web site: Israel's Edelman eliminated in Olympic skeleton. August 21, 2019. Times of Israel. en-US.
  34. Web site: Adam Edelman. www.ibsf.org. en-gb. January 22, 2018. January 19, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180119150946/http://www.ibsf.org/en/athletes/athlete/263103/EDELMAN. dead.
  35. Web site: July 6, 2020 . Israeli bobsleigh team targeting spot at Beijing 2022 . September 8, 2020 . www.insidethegames.biz.
  36. Web site: 2024-02-21 . Israel’s bobsled team pushing for Olympic glory amid Gaza war . 2024-02-22 . en-US.
  37. Web site: 2024-02-21 . Israel’s bobsled team pushing for Olympic glory amid Gaza war . 2024-02-22 . en-US.
  38. Web site: 2023-12-01 . היסטוריה: מדליה ישראלית במזחלות שלג ישראל היום . 2024-02-22 . www.israelhayom.co.il.
  39. Web site: Levine. Sara. July 19, 2019. Save The Date For The 6th Orthodox Jewish All Stars Event!. October 14, 2019. Jew in the City. en-US. October 19, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191019235436/https://jewinthecity.com/2019/07/save-the-date-for-the-6th-orthodox-jewish-all-stars-event/. dead.
  40. Web site: AJ Edelman Olympian OLY on Instagram: "Donated some equipment to the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in Long Island yesterday. The HOF is in the Suffolk Y. JCC and is a really nice…". https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/Bp1GlLpHD4I . December 24, 2021 . limited. October 14, 2019. Instagram. en.

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