The Israeli Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation is proud to announce Mondetta Clothing as a partner for the 2011-2012 competitive season.
The IBSF (www.israelibobsled.com) is a US-based not-for-profit corporation, based in Lake Placid, NY, with the mission of supporting Israel's national teams in the Olympic sliding sports of Bobsled and Skeleton.
Mondetta (www.mondetta.com), deriving its name from French and Latin for "small world", is an apparel company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1986 after fleeing from dictator Idi Amin, the company is guided by its slogan "A Spirit of Unification."
Official News Releases from the IBSF and the Israeli National Bobsled and Skeleton Teams.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Expressing Zionism Through Sports: The Israeli Bobsled and Skeleton Team
By Samantha Vinokor - Retrieved from http://vizionsofzionism.wordpress.com/2011/11/14/expressing-zionism-through-sports-the-israeli-bobsled-and-skeleton-team/
More than half of the geography of the State of Israel is comprised of the Negev desert. Israel is a country that prays for rain, and has become an innovator in the field of irrigation and water technology due to deficits of that most coveted resource in the Middle East. Thus, it may come as a shock to many that Israel, a country full of desert sands, is also home to its own Bobsled and Skeleton Federation.
Bobsled and Skeleton, for those unaware, is a winter sport involving racing downhill on tracks of ice and packed snow. Israel doesn’t have a track, but does have a team, headed by Skeleton racer Bradley Chalupski. Bradley, a New Jersey native, got involved with sliding while attending law school at Seton Hall University. He saw the sport being played at the 2006 Olympics, and decided to try it for himself. After participating in training camp with the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation and competing in regional events with the American team, he narrowly missed making the US National Team.
It was around that time that Chalupski was approached by the Israeli Federation. At first he was hesitant to compete for Israel. “I didn’t want to be an opportunist. I have a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, so I was raised very secular; I hadn’t been to Israel before and didn’t really feel a connection with it.” After soul-searching and talking with friends, family, and members of the Jewish community, Bradley began to change his mind. A connection with Judaism and the Jewish people began to emerge as various friends all had the same reaction to his query: You’re Jewish; of course you can represent Israel. Bradley, a Birthright Israel alum, was captivated by the natural beauty of the Negev desert during his inaugural trip to Israel, and began to develop a personal connection with the country.
Bradley credits his girlfriend with giving him the push that he needed to play for Israel when she said, “You have to do this. You’re Jewish and it’s Israel. Israel is a part of every Jew, and you have an obligation to do this, to try and qualify the country for the Olympic games.” Thus, the unaffiliated University of Maryland alum began to connect with Israel and his personal Zionism through bobsled and skeleton.
Now, Bradley appreciates and relishes in the opportunity to bring awareness about Israel and Jewish people to the world through sports. He takes pride in the opportunity to represent Israel, noting that “Sport is always a prism for national pride. You don’t have to look any further than the Munich Olympics. When people look to attack a country, athletes are up on the list, because they have a place in the national psyche.” He views his own connection to Israel, as forged through the sport, as a success of the Zionist movement, being that it brought him to Israel and back to his Jewish heritage. He hopes that people will view it as inspiring that Jews can do this. As he said, it means something to people when they are able to say that “Jews can be crazy too!” Jewish and Israeli participation in sports is a vehicle by which people can view Israel as a country just like any other, a participant in the world of global sports, and hopefully, one day, a champion at the Winter Olympics.
For more information about the Israeli Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, contact Tamar Simon. Tamar.Simon@gmail.com and check out the IBSF Twitter @TeamIsraelSkele
More than half of the geography of the State of Israel is comprised of the Negev desert. Israel is a country that prays for rain, and has become an innovator in the field of irrigation and water technology due to deficits of that most coveted resource in the Middle East. Thus, it may come as a shock to many that Israel, a country full of desert sands, is also home to its own Bobsled and Skeleton Federation.
Bobsled and Skeleton, for those unaware, is a winter sport involving racing downhill on tracks of ice and packed snow. Israel doesn’t have a track, but does have a team, headed by Skeleton racer Bradley Chalupski. Bradley, a New Jersey native, got involved with sliding while attending law school at Seton Hall University. He saw the sport being played at the 2006 Olympics, and decided to try it for himself. After participating in training camp with the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation and competing in regional events with the American team, he narrowly missed making the US National Team.
It was around that time that Chalupski was approached by the Israeli Federation. At first he was hesitant to compete for Israel. “I didn’t want to be an opportunist. I have a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, so I was raised very secular; I hadn’t been to Israel before and didn’t really feel a connection with it.” After soul-searching and talking with friends, family, and members of the Jewish community, Bradley began to change his mind. A connection with Judaism and the Jewish people began to emerge as various friends all had the same reaction to his query: You’re Jewish; of course you can represent Israel. Bradley, a Birthright Israel alum, was captivated by the natural beauty of the Negev desert during his inaugural trip to Israel, and began to develop a personal connection with the country.
Bradley credits his girlfriend with giving him the push that he needed to play for Israel when she said, “You have to do this. You’re Jewish and it’s Israel. Israel is a part of every Jew, and you have an obligation to do this, to try and qualify the country for the Olympic games.” Thus, the unaffiliated University of Maryland alum began to connect with Israel and his personal Zionism through bobsled and skeleton.
Now, Bradley appreciates and relishes in the opportunity to bring awareness about Israel and Jewish people to the world through sports. He takes pride in the opportunity to represent Israel, noting that “Sport is always a prism for national pride. You don’t have to look any further than the Munich Olympics. When people look to attack a country, athletes are up on the list, because they have a place in the national psyche.” He views his own connection to Israel, as forged through the sport, as a success of the Zionist movement, being that it brought him to Israel and back to his Jewish heritage. He hopes that people will view it as inspiring that Jews can do this. As he said, it means something to people when they are able to say that “Jews can be crazy too!” Jewish and Israeli participation in sports is a vehicle by which people can view Israel as a country just like any other, a participant in the world of global sports, and hopefully, one day, a champion at the Winter Olympics.
For more information about the Israeli Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, contact Tamar Simon. Tamar.Simon@gmail.com and check out the IBSF Twitter @TeamIsraelSkele
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Skeleton Team Featured in Birthright NEXT
Skeleton athlete Bradley Chalupski was profiled by Birthright NEXT on their website, "Alef: The NEXT Conversation". Full text of the article can be found here:
http://alefnext.com/jews-and-sports/an-israeli-winter-olympic-team-to-warm-the-jewish-soul/
The IBSF (www.israelibobsled.com) is a US-based not-for-profit corporation, based in Lake Placid, NY, with the mission of supporting Israel's national teams in the Olympic sliding sports of Bobsled and Skeleton.
http://alefnext.com/jews-and-sports/an-israeli-winter-olympic-team-to-warm-the-jewish-soul/
The IBSF (www.israelibobsled.com) is a US-based not-for-profit corporation, based in Lake Placid, NY, with the mission of supporting Israel's national teams in the Olympic sliding sports of Bobsled and Skeleton.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Skeleton Team Featured in News Transcript (Central NJ)
Skeleton athlete Bradley Chalupski was profiled by the News Transcript (of Central NJ). Full text of the article can be found here:
http://nt.gmnews.com/news/2011-02-23/Sports/Marlboro_grad_represents_Israel_in_skeleton_event.html
The IBSF (www.israelibobsled.com) is a US-based not-for-profit corporation, based in Lake Placid, NY, with the mission of supporting Israel's national teams in the Olympic sliding sports of Bobsled and Skeleton.
http://nt.gmnews.com/news/2011-02-23/Sports/Marlboro_grad_represents_Israel_in_skeleton_event.html
The IBSF (www.israelibobsled.com) is a US-based not-for-profit corporation, based in Lake Placid, NY, with the mission of supporting Israel's national teams in the Olympic sliding sports of Bobsled and Skeleton.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Pirates Eye On...Bradley Chalupski, J.D. '10
By Robert Mayers - Retrieved from http://www.shu.edu/news/article/329000
Bradley Chalupski, J.D. ’10 is going to be the first Israeli born athlete to compete at the Skeleton World Championships. The Pirate Press sat down with Bradley to ask him about the unique sport of Skeleton and how he prepares for competition. We also spoke to him about what it means to represent his country on such a grand scale.
PP: How did you become involved with skeleton?
BC: Honestly? I saw it on the television and thought it looked like fun. No joke. I was sitting in my dorm room my senior year of college watching the 2006 Olympics in Torino and saw this ridiculously awesome looking sport. I said to myself, "That looks like a ton of fun and I bet I could be good at that."
PP: For those who are unfamiliar, what exactly is Skeleton and what does a competition involve?
BC: Skeleton is most easily described as head-first luge. I go head-first down an ice chute at speeds up to 78mph. It is contested on the same track as luge and bobsled. The sled stands about half a foot tall on its blades (known as "runners") and has some pieces of steel welded onto it to keep me in the center (known as the "saddle") as I go down the track. I refer to it as my “flying cookie-sheet." I bend over, grab onto one side of the saddle, and literally push the sled by running with one hand on and the other hand off, which I use for balance and to generate momentum. I run in this way about 40 meters before I leap on top of the sled, and lie down. Unlike luge or bobsled the sled that I use does not have a steering mechanism proper, and so once I am lying down on the sled I instead rely on subtle movements of my head, shoulders, knees, and toes to drive the sled where I want it to go.
As for a competition, the basic format is two runs down the track and the best combined time wins. There are certain protocols on race day (runner temperature, weight requirements, etc.) which are to be taken into consideration as well. All tracks, with few exceptions, are about a mile long so you are basically racing on two miles of ice. It is not uncommon to have the difference between first and third be less than a tenth of a second. A recent World Cup race was won by literally one-one-thousandth of a second. I myself just missed Israel's first medal in an FIBT Skeleton competition by 0.2 seconds over two miles of ice. It's tough, but it's the nature of the sport and you know it when you sign up for it.
PP: What are the dangers involved and do you take any extra safety precautions during practice and events?
BC: There are dangers involved in this sport? Really? But in all seriousness, Skeleton is definitely an intense, extreme sport. Really all that I wear when I go down the mountain is a helmet, a long-track ice skating speed suit, and my spikes (which allow me to run on ice). The thing that most people are amazed to learn about Skeleton is that it is actually the safest of the three sliding sports (luge, bobsled, skeleton). It sounds so crazy because we go head-first, but that is actually the safest way to do it.
I have come off of my sled two times in my life, and both times I simply went sliding down the track on my butt until I stopped. I didn't have a scratch on me. Moreover, I actually took another run that day after coming entirely off my sled. That would never happen in Luge.
PP: You are going to become the first Israeli athlete to participate in the Skeleton World Championships. How does it feel to represent your country?
BC: It goes without saying that it is a huge honor. Israel is such a unique country in the history of the world that it really is more than just a country that I am representing; it is in fact an entire people. Every day I remind myself of what I am representing. It is not every person that gets to be the representative of their country or people. Whenever we do anything, we always remember that it is not we who are acting, but Israel and do our best to live up to being worthy representatives.
PP: Are you more nervous or excited for the World Championship stage?
BC: It is a huge honor to be representing Israel at this year's World Championships. I wouldn't say that I am nervous, since I am not expected to win anything and ultimately I am just there to compete. I think it is the type of thing that I will not truly grasp the magnitude of until I am there. However, my goal is to do my thing and represent myself and Israel with dignity and pride. Bobsledding is huge in Germany, and I am told that more than 10,000 spectators are expected to show up for the event.
Bradley Chalupski, J.D. ’10 is going to be the first Israeli born athlete to compete at the Skeleton World Championships. The Pirate Press sat down with Bradley to ask him about the unique sport of Skeleton and how he prepares for competition. We also spoke to him about what it means to represent his country on such a grand scale.PP: How did you become involved with skeleton?
BC: Honestly? I saw it on the television and thought it looked like fun. No joke. I was sitting in my dorm room my senior year of college watching the 2006 Olympics in Torino and saw this ridiculously awesome looking sport. I said to myself, "That looks like a ton of fun and I bet I could be good at that."
PP: For those who are unfamiliar, what exactly is Skeleton and what does a competition involve?
BC: Skeleton is most easily described as head-first luge. I go head-first down an ice chute at speeds up to 78mph. It is contested on the same track as luge and bobsled. The sled stands about half a foot tall on its blades (known as "runners") and has some pieces of steel welded onto it to keep me in the center (known as the "saddle") as I go down the track. I refer to it as my “flying cookie-sheet." I bend over, grab onto one side of the saddle, and literally push the sled by running with one hand on and the other hand off, which I use for balance and to generate momentum. I run in this way about 40 meters before I leap on top of the sled, and lie down. Unlike luge or bobsled the sled that I use does not have a steering mechanism proper, and so once I am lying down on the sled I instead rely on subtle movements of my head, shoulders, knees, and toes to drive the sled where I want it to go.
As for a competition, the basic format is two runs down the track and the best combined time wins. There are certain protocols on race day (runner temperature, weight requirements, etc.) which are to be taken into consideration as well. All tracks, with few exceptions, are about a mile long so you are basically racing on two miles of ice. It is not uncommon to have the difference between first and third be less than a tenth of a second. A recent World Cup race was won by literally one-one-thousandth of a second. I myself just missed Israel's first medal in an FIBT Skeleton competition by 0.2 seconds over two miles of ice. It's tough, but it's the nature of the sport and you know it when you sign up for it.
PP: What are the dangers involved and do you take any extra safety precautions during practice and events?
BC: There are dangers involved in this sport? Really? But in all seriousness, Skeleton is definitely an intense, extreme sport. Really all that I wear when I go down the mountain is a helmet, a long-track ice skating speed suit, and my spikes (which allow me to run on ice). The thing that most people are amazed to learn about Skeleton is that it is actually the safest of the three sliding sports (luge, bobsled, skeleton). It sounds so crazy because we go head-first, but that is actually the safest way to do it.
I have come off of my sled two times in my life, and both times I simply went sliding down the track on my butt until I stopped. I didn't have a scratch on me. Moreover, I actually took another run that day after coming entirely off my sled. That would never happen in Luge.
PP: You are going to become the first Israeli athlete to participate in the Skeleton World Championships. How does it feel to represent your country?
BC: It goes without saying that it is a huge honor. Israel is such a unique country in the history of the world that it really is more than just a country that I am representing; it is in fact an entire people. Every day I remind myself of what I am representing. It is not every person that gets to be the representative of their country or people. Whenever we do anything, we always remember that it is not we who are acting, but Israel and do our best to live up to being worthy representatives.
PP: Are you more nervous or excited for the World Championship stage?
BC: It is a huge honor to be representing Israel at this year's World Championships. I wouldn't say that I am nervous, since I am not expected to win anything and ultimately I am just there to compete. I think it is the type of thing that I will not truly grasp the magnitude of until I am there. However, my goal is to do my thing and represent myself and Israel with dignity and pride. Bobsledding is huge in Germany, and I am told that more than 10,000 spectators are expected to show up for the event.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Winnipeg's David Greaves, Member of First Israeli Bobsled Team, to Speak at Pre-Olympic Event
By Rhonda J. Prepes - Retrieved from http://www.winnipegjewishreview.com/article_detail.cfm?id=177&sec=1
Winnipeg’s David Greaves, one of the founding members of the first ever Israeli bobsled team, has been invited by the Vancouver chapter of Magen David Adom Canada to be a keynote speaker at a pre 2010 Winter Olympic event.
The event, which will take place on February 11, the evening before opening ceremonies, will be attended by the current Israeli Olympic team, Olympic officials, dignitaries, community leaders, and members of Vancouver’s Jewish community – all wanting to hear about the bobsled team’s inspirational journey.
As Greaves, 42, told the Winnipeg Jewish Review, he and his pioneering teammates had “a dream to represent Israel in a positive light and to promote the sport of bobsledding in Israel.”
In 2002, Greaves joined San Francisco residents Aaron Zeff and John Frank and Aussie coach Ross Dominikovich to form a team to represent Israel on bobsled tracks around the world.
It was in Calgary in 2002 that Greaves prepared for his first competitive run down the bobsled track, with “tears in my eyes.” His teammate Frank turned to him and said the Shema Israel Hebrew prayer just before they pushed off.
Although they did not qualify for the Winter Olympics in 2006, the team did compete in two World Championships and accomplished more than anyone ever thought they could.
As Greaves said, “If we had only focused on our goal of competing in the 2006 Winter Olympics, we would have missed out on the meaningful journey along the way. Although we were not successful in our Olympic quest, we did succeed in overcoming many obstacles. We were triumphant in promoting the sport of bobsledding and displaying our strong devotion for Israel.”
In their first season (2003-04), Israel ranked fifth among 15 teams competing in the America’s Cup series, a notch below the World Cup. In their second season (2004-05), the team ranked 11 out of 22 sleds in the series, despite having to forfeit one-third of the races.
As Greaves recalls, the team he co-founded had no previous experience. They learnt the sport of bobsledding through hands-on trial and error. They survived numerous crashes and injuries. They overcame personal doubts. They made aliyah to become Israeli citizens. They travelled to a variety of destinations to practice, since Israel had no bobsled track. They hired a coach, bought equipment, and rallied the support of the Israeli Olympic Committee. They did not ask for funding from the Israeli government, the Israel Olympic Committee, or the Elite Sports Federation. They used their own money, fundraised and found sponsors.
“We connected with Jews in every community that we travelled to. We became more than a team of athletes – we became ambassadors for Israel. We received a lot of publicity in Canada, the States, Europe and Israel. We built up a solid following of fans and were able to share our passion for Israel and Judaism. Surprisingly, we received a cheering reception wherever we went, even in Germany,” Greaves remembers.
Greaves told the Winnipeg Jewish Review about how the team participated in the 2004 World Championship races in Konigssee, Germany with a heightened sense of accomplishment and pride.
“To think that 65 years ago there were no Jews left in Germany, there was no State of Israel and no Israeli Olympic team and then in 2004, three Jews on the Israeli bobsled team competed in Germany within view of Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s secret retreat. All our hard work was worth it just to see the Israeli flag fly over German soil,” Greaves said.
Greaves is currently the Secretary General of the Israeli Bobsled Federation representing athletes in bobsledding and skeleton racing. Following his bobsledding success, he managed to parlay his passion for Israel and support of Zionism into a position with the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg. He has been Associate CJA Campaign Director for 5 years and is still living his dream.
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| |
The event, which will take place on February 11, the evening before opening ceremonies, will be attended by the current Israeli Olympic team, Olympic officials, dignitaries, community leaders, and members of Vancouver’s Jewish community – all wanting to hear about the bobsled team’s inspirational journey.
As Greaves, 42, told the Winnipeg Jewish Review, he and his pioneering teammates had “a dream to represent Israel in a positive light and to promote the sport of bobsledding in Israel.”
In 2002, Greaves joined San Francisco residents Aaron Zeff and John Frank and Aussie coach Ross Dominikovich to form a team to represent Israel on bobsled tracks around the world.
It was in Calgary in 2002 that Greaves prepared for his first competitive run down the bobsled track, with “tears in my eyes.” His teammate Frank turned to him and said the Shema Israel Hebrew prayer just before they pushed off.
Although they did not qualify for the Winter Olympics in 2006, the team did compete in two World Championships and accomplished more than anyone ever thought they could.
As Greaves said, “If we had only focused on our goal of competing in the 2006 Winter Olympics, we would have missed out on the meaningful journey along the way. Although we were not successful in our Olympic quest, we did succeed in overcoming many obstacles. We were triumphant in promoting the sport of bobsledding and displaying our strong devotion for Israel.” In their first season (2003-04), Israel ranked fifth among 15 teams competing in the America’s Cup series, a notch below the World Cup. In their second season (2004-05), the team ranked 11 out of 22 sleds in the series, despite having to forfeit one-third of the races.
As Greaves recalls, the team he co-founded had no previous experience. They learnt the sport of bobsledding through hands-on trial and error. They survived numerous crashes and injuries. They overcame personal doubts. They made aliyah to become Israeli citizens. They travelled to a variety of destinations to practice, since Israel had no bobsled track. They hired a coach, bought equipment, and rallied the support of the Israeli Olympic Committee. They did not ask for funding from the Israeli government, the Israel Olympic Committee, or the Elite Sports Federation. They used their own money, fundraised and found sponsors.
“We connected with Jews in every community that we travelled to. We became more than a team of athletes – we became ambassadors for Israel. We received a lot of publicity in Canada, the States, Europe and Israel. We built up a solid following of fans and were able to share our passion for Israel and Judaism. Surprisingly, we received a cheering reception wherever we went, even in Germany,” Greaves remembers.
Greaves told the Winnipeg Jewish Review about how the team participated in the 2004 World Championship races in Konigssee, Germany with a heightened sense of accomplishment and pride.
“To think that 65 years ago there were no Jews left in Germany, there was no State of Israel and no Israeli Olympic team and then in 2004, three Jews on the Israeli bobsled team competed in Germany within view of Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s secret retreat. All our hard work was worth it just to see the Israeli flag fly over German soil,” Greaves said.
Greaves is currently the Secretary General of the Israeli Bobsled Federation representing athletes in bobsledding and skeleton racing. Following his bobsledding success, he managed to parlay his passion for Israel and support of Zionism into a position with the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg. He has been Associate CJA Campaign Director for 5 years and is still living his dream.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
"Celebrity Breakfast" - The Jewish Tribune Western Edition 4/9/2009
By Alisa Bell, JTWE Correspondent
The first few times Omri Geva dove head first down an icy skeleton track, he wasn't sure the sport was for him.
"I didn't know what I was doing, I hit a lot of walls," the 21-year-old Israeli Olympic hopeful told the Jewish Tribune Western Edition in an interview after competing in the America's Cup, an international skeleton race, inLake Placid, NY.
Geva, along with teammate, Aliyah Snyder, a female Israeli skeleton slider, are a first for Israel; they are the first Israeli international skeleton racers. Both have their sights on competing in the 2010 Olympics.
"It was my dream from the beginning to represent Israel doing this," said Geva, who helped found the Israeli Bobsled and Skeleton Federation. "There is no big winter sports program in Israel, and we are responsible for raising all our own funds," Geva said, adding, "we do not have a full staff of coaches and technicians like some of the bigger teams [and] there is no place to train for skeleton within Israel, so we do all our training away from home."
Skeleton is not for the faint of heart. Athletes plummet head first down icy tracks, reaching speeds up to 130 km/hour and forces up to 5Gs, without braking or steering mechanisms (steering only through slight shifts in the body).
If it sounds dangerous, it is.
Two years after taking up skeleton, Geva came close to ending his career when he was catapulted off the track and 20 metres through the air, landing head first onto coolant pipes.
"My helmet split in two," said Geva, "It was the scariest moment of my life, I was sure I wasn't going to survive."
Apart from severe burns, cuts and swelling - superficial but painful injuries - the Israeli skeleton racer survived the massive crash and was back on the tracks within months, finishing the season at the Americas Cup in early April.
Geva, determined to represent Israel at the winter Olympics, sees his role as particularly important in view of the international sports arena, whic has again and again discriminated against Israeli athletes.
Last year, for example, Israeli tennis players Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram were denied entry into Dubai, preventing their participation in one of the year's largest tennis tournaments. Despite warnings by the International Tennis Federation, the same thing happened this year with another Israeli player, Shahar Peer. In 2003, Saudi and Yemeni tennis players refusted to participate in matches against Israelis. In the 2004 Athens Olympics, an Iranian Judo athlete said he "would have" refused a match against an Israeli. In 2008, an Iranian swimmer said he was too sick to swim (in the same heat as an Israeli swimmer). In Libya's bid for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, they declared all qualified nations, except Israel, would be invited. In 1974, the Israeli soccer federation was expelled from the Asian Football Confederation because Middle Eastern countries refused to compete against Israel.
"I'm the first to announce I'm Israeli and proud of it," the articulate young athlete told the Jewish Tribune, adding, "representing Israel comes with the additional responsibility of being a representative of the greater Jewish community."
 |
| OMRI GEVA: Skeleton Racer |
"I didn't know what I was doing, I hit a lot of walls," the 21-year-old Israeli Olympic hopeful told the Jewish Tribune Western Edition in an interview after competing in the America's Cup, an international skeleton race, inLake Placid, NY.
Geva, along with teammate, Aliyah Snyder, a female Israeli skeleton slider, are a first for Israel; they are the first Israeli international skeleton racers. Both have their sights on competing in the 2010 Olympics.
"It was my dream from the beginning to represent Israel doing this," said Geva, who helped found the Israeli Bobsled and Skeleton Federation. "There is no big winter sports program in Israel, and we are responsible for raising all our own funds," Geva said, adding, "we do not have a full staff of coaches and technicians like some of the bigger teams [and] there is no place to train for skeleton within Israel, so we do all our training away from home."
Skeleton is not for the faint of heart. Athletes plummet head first down icy tracks, reaching speeds up to 130 km/hour and forces up to 5Gs, without braking or steering mechanisms (steering only through slight shifts in the body).
If it sounds dangerous, it is.
Two years after taking up skeleton, Geva came close to ending his career when he was catapulted off the track and 20 metres through the air, landing head first onto coolant pipes.
"My helmet split in two," said Geva, "It was the scariest moment of my life, I was sure I wasn't going to survive."
Apart from severe burns, cuts and swelling - superficial but painful injuries - the Israeli skeleton racer survived the massive crash and was back on the tracks within months, finishing the season at the Americas Cup in early April.
Geva, determined to represent Israel at the winter Olympics, sees his role as particularly important in view of the international sports arena, whic has again and again discriminated against Israeli athletes.
 |
| Omri Geva reaches speeds up to 130 km/hour and forces up to 5Gs. |
"I'm the first to announce I'm Israeli and proud of it," the articulate young athlete told the Jewish Tribune, adding, "representing Israel comes with the additional responsibility of being a representative of the greater Jewish community."
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