Courtesy of JTA. Photo credit: Getty Images, X
Some of the Jewish and Israeli 2026 Winter Olympians, from left: Noa Szollos, Quinn Hughes, A.J. Edelman, Attila Mihály Kertész and Mariia Seniuk
(JTA) — All eyes might be on Israel’s unlikely bobsled squad, making its first appearance at the Winter Olympics, but there are actually a slew of Jewish and Israeli athletes headed to Milan.
The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics kick off on Feb. 6, followed by the Paralympics exactly one month later.
Jewish and Israeli athletes enjoyed historic success at the most recent Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024, with a combined 36 athletes taking home 31 total medals. Israel’s seven Olympic medals were the country’s most in a single tournament.
Now sports fans worldwide turn their attention to Italy, where Israel will send nine athletes, its second-largest delegation in its ninth Winter Olympics appearance. A number of Team USA stars also hail from Jewish backgrounds, including three members of the men’s ice hockey squad.
Here are some of the biggest Jewish names to watch when the Olympic torch is lit in Milan.
A.J. Edelman and the Israeli bobsled team
For A.J. Edelman, the 2026 Games represent a culmination of a 12-year effort to build an Israeli bobsled program worthy of Olympic competition. In his words, this is Israel’s “Shul Runnings” moment — a nod to the movie “Cool Runnings” about the famous Jamaican bobsled team.
Edelman will be joined by Menachem Chen, Ward Fawarsy and Omer Katz (plus Uri Zisman as an alternate) as Israel makes its Olympic debut in bobsled.
Jared Firestone, Israel’s “Jewish Jet”
Miami-born Jared Firestone will compete for Israel in the skeleton competition, making his Olympic debut at age 35. He discovered the sport as part of his recovery from a transient ischemic attack, also known as a “mini-stroke.”
Firestone became the first Israeli to win gold in an Olympic-discipline sliding sport competition, at the North America Cup in Lake Placid.
Aerin Frankel, star goalie for Team USA
Boston Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel has made a name for herself as a star in the ascendant Professional Women’s Hockey League. But the 26-year-old turns it up another notch in international play.
Frankel was Team USA’s starting goalie for the Women’s World Championships from 2023 to 2025, leading the U.S. squad to gold medals in 2023 and 2025 and silver in 2024. She was also on the U.S. roster for its 2021 and 2022 silver medal runs.
The Hughes brothers, and Boston’s other Jewish goaltender
On the men’s side, Team USA will feature a trio of Jewish ice hockey stars all making their Olympic debuts: brothers Quinn and Jack Hughes and Jeremy Swayman.
Quinn Hughes, 26, a defenseman for the Minnesota Wild, was the 2024 winner of the NHL’s James Norris Memorial Trophy for the league’s best defenseman. He has played for various U.S. teams dating back to 2015.
Middle brother Jack Hughes, 24, is a star center for the New Jersey Devils, where he plays alongside youngest brother Luke Hughes. Jack, the first overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, is a three-time All-Star. Swayman, 27, was a star at the University of Maine before joining the Boston Bruins in 2021.
Attila Mihály Kertész, Israel’s first Olympic cross-country skier
It’s fitting that Attila Mihály Kertész is a cross-country skier, given the circuitous route he took to his first Olympics.
The 37-year-old was born and raised in Hungary, lives in Thailand and works as a veterinarian. He didn’t begin training until 2018. And now, he’s Israel’s first Olympic cross-country skier.
Kertész, whose wife is Jewish, also endured a long path to Israeli citizenship. He and his family finally completed the process in the summer of 2024.
“It’s historic to be the first [Israeli] cross-country skier,” Kertész told the Times of Israel.
Emery Lehman, U.S. speed skater
The elder statesman of the U.S. Jewish Olympic cohort, Chicago native Emery Lehman, 29, returns for his fourth straight Winter Olympics. He won a bronze medal in Beijing in 2022. He has also won several gold medals at international speed skating competitions.
Lehman became a national champion at 13 years old and qualified for his first Olympics, the 2014 Sochi Games, at 17.
Kayle Osborne, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
New York Sirens goalie Kayle Osborne completes the quintet of Jewish ice hockey players headed to Milan.
The 23-year-old Ontario native almost played for Canada at the Maccabiah Games as a teenager before going on to a standout career as a goalie at Colgate University. She is making her Olympic debut.
Mariia Seniuk, Israeli figure skating champion
Mariia Seniuk, 20, is a Russian-Israeli figure skater fresh off her fourth consecutive Israeli national championship in singles skating.
Seniuk placed 16th overall at the 2025 World Championships in Boston to clinch an Olympic quota for Israel.
Noa and Barnabás Szőllős, Israel’s “ski siblings”
Alpine skiing siblings Noa and Barnabas Szőllős are returning for their second straight Winter Olympics. Noa, 22, became the first Israeli athlete to medal at a winter Olympic event when she won a silver and a bronze at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics.
Barnabás, 27, finished sixth in combined downhill in Beijing in 2022.
