As figure skater Mariia Seniuk walks across the stage at the 2026 Olympics opening ceremony, in Milan, bearing the Israeli flag, she beams with pride, representing her country and all Jewish people around the world. Despite the crowd’s loud boos, Seniuk kept her smile big and flag high. At the same time in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Jared Firestone, nicknamed “The Jewish Jet,” carries the Israeli flag and wears a kippah embroidered with the names of the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches who were murdered at the 1972 Munich Games.
At this year’s winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Israel sent a delegation of ten athletes, competing in bobsleigh, skiing, figure skating and more. The United States delegation included six Jewish athletes. Additionally, Italy, Canada and Austria each sent one Jewish person to the games to represent their countries. While Israel did not medal in any event, Team USA won 33 medals, four of which were earned by Jewish athletes.
Emery Lehman, a Jewish-American speed skater from Chicago, won silver at the Olympics along with his teammates. The team placed second in the quarterfinals, where the top four teams advanced. In the semifinals, they beat China by over seven seconds. They were the favorites for gold going into the final against Italy, where they lost by 4.51 seconds, finishing with silver.
Korey Dropkin, a Jewish-American from Boston, and his partner, Cory Thiesse, won silver in mixed doubles curling. The pair advanced to the semifinals, where they faced Italy’s Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner, the favorites for gold. After seven of eight ends, Italy was leading 8-7. However, in the eighth end, Team USA came back, taking two stones and securing a trip to the finals. They were winning 5-4 entering the eighth end of the finals, but they were unable to hold on, losing to Sweden, 6-5.
“I wanted to show the world that curlers are elite athletes and that this sport is super fun,” Dropkin said in an interview with Brigham Young University’s newspaper. “I think I did that.”
Avital Carroll represented Austria in the Olympics, placing seventh in Women’s Mogul Skiing. The American-born Jew represented Austria by restoring citizenship lost during the Holocaust through a program for descendants of Nazi persecution. Carroll finished seventh overall with a score of 76.39.
Jewish goaltender for the United States women’s ice hockey team Aerin Frankel allowed only two goals throughout the Olympics and had a 0.980 save percentage, which is considered very high. She also made history by becoming the first goaltender to record three shutouts in Olympic women’s ice hockey. Team USA outscored their opponents 31-1 to advance to the gold medal game against Canada, who they ended up defeating 2-1 in overtime after being down 1-0 with under three minutes left in regulation.
“The team is playing so well in front of me, defensively,” Aerin Frankel said in an interview with USA Today. “They’re making my job easy, making the plays in front of me predictable, so I can do my job. I think we’re all just playing together as a group, and that’s our strength.”
The United States men’s hockey team, which features three Jewish athletes and was led by Jewish brothers Quinn and Jack Hughes, also won gold at the 2026 Games. Team USA won all three preliminary matches and advanced to the quarterfinals as the number two seed. The game went to overtime, where Quinn scored the winning goal, then Team USA beat Slovakia 6-2 in the semifinals. Jack scored 2 goals, leading Team USA to the finals against Canada.
“That’s unreal. That’s a massive goal, massive moment,” Jack said in an interview with Page Six, in response to Quinn’s overtime goal. “One of our best players taking over there and winning that game for us.”
In the finals against Canada, the score was 1-1 at the end of regulation, then, one minute into overtime, Jack scored the winning goal, winning gold for Team USA.
Along with the history of the United States men’s ice hockey team winning gold for the first time in 46 years, the Israeli bobsleigh team, nicknamed “Shul Runnings,” also made history as the first-ever Israeli bobsleigh team to compete in the Olympics. Captain Adam “AJ” Edelman was the first orthodox Jew to compete in the Winter Olympics. Edelman and his partner Menachem Chen finished last in the two-man event, failing to qualify for the final heat. The team was disqualified before they could finish their main event, the four-man run.
“It is the greatest thing in the world to see your country represented,” Edelman said in an interview with NBC News.
Despite every Israeli athlete except one finishing in the bottom five or not finishing their event at the 2026 games, they still made history by having the largest Israeli Winter Olympic delegation and having the first Israeli team in bobsleigh sent to the Olympics. Additionally, it was a successful Olympics for Jewish athletes like Jack Hughes and Aerin Frankel, who led their teams to success in their sports and came back home as Olympic gold medalists.
