PARIS: An Israeli bobsleigher said on Tuesday he gave no “credence whatsoever” to the “diatribe” from a Swiss television commentator who had questioned the legitimacy of him competing at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
The commentator on Swiss channel RTS said Adam Edelman’s supportive comments of Israel’s more-than-two-year bombardment of Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of over 70,000 people and the destruction of most of the territory’s infrastructure, should have resulted in him being barred from the Olympics.
“Edelman, first appearance at an Olympic Games, who defines himself and I quote ‘as a Zionist to the core’,” remarked the commentator, Stefan Renna, as Edelman and teammate Menachem Chen began their two-man bobsleigh run on Monday.
The commentator went on to tell viewers that Edelman had posted on social media “in favor of the genocide in Gaza. I remind you that genocide is the term used by the United Nations commission of inquiry.”
A commission mandated by the United Nations and several NGOs, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have accused Israel of perpetrating a genocide in Gaza.
Israel has responded by qualifying these claims as “lies” and “anti-Semitic.”
Renna also commented that Edelman had “said the Israeli military intervention was, I quote, the most morally justified war in history.”
He suggested Edelman should have been barred from the Milan-Cortina Games on the same basis that the International Olympic Committee refused to allow Russian athletes to appear if they had made pro-war remarks regarding their country’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Edelman was furious and hit back on his Instagram account.
“I am aware of the diatribe the commentator directed toward the Israeli bobsled team on the Swiss Olympic broadcast today,” he wrote.
“I can’t help but notice the contrast: Shul Runnings (the Israeli team’s nickname) is a team of 6 proud Israelis who’ve made it to the Olympic stage.
“No coach with us. No big program. Just a dream, grit and unyielding pride in who we represent.
“Working together toward such an incredible goal and crushing it. Because that’s what Israelis do.
“I don’t think it’s possible to witness that and give credence to this commentary.”
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said it was not for them to comment.
“In terms of specific comments by a commentator, that is a matter you have to refer to the broadcaster,” he said at the IOC daily briefing.
RTS had yet to respond to AFP’s request for a comment.
Israeli bobsleigher dismisses Olympics ‘diatribe’ by Swiss TV commentator
https://arab.news/2fxub
Israeli bobsleigher dismisses Olympics ‘diatribe’ by Swiss TV commentator
- The commentator went on to tell viewers that Edelman had posted on social media “in favor of the genocide in Gaza”
- Israel has responded by qualifying these claims as “lies” and “anti-Semitic“
Russell, Antonelli lead Mercedes in one-two qualifying positions for F1’s Australian GP
- Russell topped all three sessions in F1’s knockout qualifying format, finally casting aside questions of where Mercedes team was in the new-era pecking order
MELBOURNE: Mercedes has revealed its dominant hand during qualifying for Sunday’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
George Russell earned his ninth-career pole position Saturday ahead of his teammate Kimi Antonelli for the team’s 83rd front-row lockout and its first since the 2024 British Grand Prix.
Russell topped all three sessions in F1’s knockout qualifying format, finally casting aside questions of where Mercedes team was in the new-era pecking order. His pole time, at 1 minute, 18.518 seconds, was almost eight-tenths faster than the nearest non-Mercedes challenger, Red Bull rookie Isack Hadjar, who completed the top three.
“It was a great day, we knew there was a lot of potential in the car, but until we get to this first Saturday of the season, you never know,” Russell said. “But it really came alive this afternoon, especially when the track temperatures cooled, we know we tend to favor those conditions.”
Antonelli was relieved to have made it onto the front row alongside his teammate after a crash in final practice at the exit of turn two meant it was a race in the Mercedes garage to get him out for qualifying.
“It’s been a very stressful day. Unfortunately, I went into the wall (in FP3),” he said. “But the guys (in the garage) were the heroes today to put the car back on track.”
Hadjar was impressive by qualifying third on debut for Red Bull, his highest-ever grid position.
“The only thing I can do is take them at the start, but they’re just too fast at the moment,” Hadjar said of Mercedes. “I want to keep my position and a second podium would be cool.”
Ferrari showed it’s neck-and-neck with McLaren on pace, with just one and a half tenths seconds covering the four drivers just beyond the top-three — with Charles Leclerc qualifying fourth, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in fifth and sixth respectively, and Lewis Hamilton in seventh.
Racing Bulls showed they’ve taken a step forward over the winter, with New Zealander Liam Lawson eighth ahead of his highly-rated rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad.
The big surprise of the session came from four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen, who triggered red flags at Melbourne’s Albert Park after he lost control of his Red Bull car in braking for turn one in the first half of Q1 and ended in the barriers.
The Dutchman, who was unhurt from the crash, though upset that his brakes locked up, will now start from the back of the grid.
F1 heads into a new era this year, with unprecedented changes across the chassis (car) and power unit, which now feature an almost 50:50 output split between the turbo 1.6-liter V6 engine and electrical energy harvested from the brakes, one that requires a new, often counterintuitive driving style from the drivers.
