TEL AVIV (AP) — An Orthodox Jewish athlete is set to make Olympic history this winter, leading Israel’s first-ever bobsled team into the Milan–Cortina Games in a debut that blends unlikely athletic paths with a charged political backdrop.

AJ Edelman, an American-Israeli from Massachusetts, is believed to be the first Orthodox Jew to compete in the Winter Olympics. He heads a newly assembled Israeli bobsled team whose members include athletes drawn from track and field, rugby and other sports — most of whom had never sat in a sled before this season.

The team’s emergence comes as Israel faces growing diplomatic isolation in international sports, with calls for boycotts and restrictions tied to the war in Gaza. Still, the athletes say they see their participation as a point of pride and a foundation for the future of Israeli winter sports.

“We’re building something from nothing,” Edelman said in an interview from Italy, where the team has been training. “With the structure that’s now in place, Israel can eventually be competitive in this sport.”

Edelman’s path to the Games has been unconventional. Years ago, a talent scout dismissed him as physically unsuited for sliding sports, citing scoliosis and balance issues. Undeterred, Edelman taught himself skeleton racing through online videos and qualified for the 2018 Winter Games, finishing near the back of the field. He later shifted his focus to assembling a bobsled team, a project he describes as equal parts persistence and improvisation.

One of the original recruits was Ward Fawarseh, a rugby player from the Druze town of Majd al-Krum in northern Israel. If he competes, Fawarseh would be the first Druze Olympian. He initially assumed Edelman’s outreach was a hoax.

“I didn’t even realize there was a Winter Olympics,” Fawarseh said. “Then suddenly I’m being asked to race down an ice track at full speed.”

The original lineup narrowly missed qualifying for the Beijing Games and regrouped with an eye toward 2026. Plans were upended again after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and led to the mobilization of many reserve soldiers — including members of the bobsled team.

Edelman and Fawarseh restarted recruitment, bringing in Israeli shot putter Menachem Chen, sprinter Omer Katz and pole vaulter Uri Zisman. CrossFit athlete Itamar Shprinz joined as coach, despite limited familiarity with the sport.

“I knew it involved sleds and ice — that was about it,” Shprinz said. His first ride, in Canada, ended with him briefly losing consciousness. “It’s brutal,” he said.

The team secured its Olympic berth last month at Lake Placid, one of the sport’s most storied venues.

Israel will send several other athletes to the Games, including figure skater Maria Seniuk, alpine skiers Noa Szollos and Barnabas Szollos, cross-country skier Atila Mihaly Kertesz and skeleton racer Jared Firestone.

Their participation comes amid international criticism and comparisons to Russia’s Olympic sanctions. Some activists have argued Israeli athletes should compete without national symbols. The International Olympic Committee has rejected those calls, saying the legal criteria applied to Russia do not apply in Israel’s case.

Despite security concerns and political tension, team members say they are determined to compete openly as Israelis.

“We know there are people who don’t want us there,” Edelman said. “But we’re not hiding who we are.”

Zisman echoed that sentiment, saying concerns from family members about wearing Israeli symbols have only strengthened his resolve.

“That’s exactly why we do it,” he said. “To represent our country the best way we can.”