Israeli Bobsled Team Impresses in Canada

Archived from The Jerusalem Post

With Aaron Zeff at the helm and John Frank acting as pusher and brakeman, the Israeli bobsled team managed surprising fifth and sixth place finishes, in a twelve-team field, in two races at the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Toboganning America's Cup in Calgary, Canada, over the weekend.  By cracking the 57-second barrier, they recorded a time that would place them in the top ten in the world.

In their second FIBT America's Cup race of the season, the Israeli bobsled team, comprised of Zeff and Frank (both from San Francisco, with dual Israeli-American citizenship), David Greaves, the alternate brakeman on the two-man racing team; and coach Ross Dominikovich, former captain of the New Zealand bobsled team, clearly demonstrated that it is among the world's elite.

In last week's event in Park City, Utah, which was their first complete international tourney as they competed in one America's Cup race last year but crashed out, the Israeli team managed to come in sixth out of eight teams, and beat a team from Greece that had participated in the last two Olympics.

The Israelis are currently third, with 56 points, in the cumulative standings for this year's America's Cup, comprising 14 teams.

In all, there were five teams from Canada taking part, three American squads, two from Mexico, and one each from Armenia, Slovakia, Greece, and Israel.

David Greaves, from Winnipeg in Canada and holding dual Israeli-Canadian citizenship and who took part in the first race of the season, told The Jerusalem Post, "I was honored to brake for Aaron [Zeff] in Israel's first race and to be crew support for our fifth-place, medal-winning event the next day.  I think we shocked almost every nation there (except ourselves) and garnered some great respect for both our team and our coach.  I should also say that this is as much about the sport as it is for us to reach out to the communities we train in and compete in."

They are hoping to eventually crack the top 30, which would help them secure a bid to the next Olympics in Turin, Italy.