For the men, Jeremy Swayman is a former All-Star who plays for the Boston Bruins, and is included in the squad that will face Latvia, Germany, and Denmark in the group stages.
He is joined by the Hughes brothers: Jack, 24, is a three-time All-Star and one of the nation’s best attackers, playing domestically for the New Jersey Devils.
His older brother Quinn, 26, was named the league’s top defenceman in 2024 while plying his trade for the Vancouver Canucks. Their mother, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, a pioneering player of women's ice hockey was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2024 for her achievements on the ice rink.
A third and final Jewish goaltender, Kayle Osborne, is included in the Canadian squad. She plays for the New York Sirens and has previously represented her nation at the Maccabiah Games in Israel.
AJ Edelman is captain of Israel's debut Olympic bobsleigh team, dubbed 'Shul Runnings' (Photo: Getty)AFP via Getty Images
Bobsleigh
Israel’s debut Olympic bobsleigh team, dubbed “Shul Runnings” – a nod to the hit Nineties film Cool Runnings about the 1988 Jamaican bobsleigh team – has not had an easy ride thus far.
On Saturday, team captain AJ Edelman posted that the team’s apartment in Milan was broken into, with passports and cash among the items stolen. He played down the incident, though, telling the JC that it is just “another thing” the team had to deal with and “will get through”.
Edelman is partnered with Menachem Chen in the two-man team, with Ward Fawarsy and Omer Katz making up the four-man team, which Edelman said on X is their “premier event”. Fawarsy is thought to be making history as the first ever Druze Olympian.
Hungarian-born siblings and alpine skiers Barnabás and Noa Szőllős are both competing in Italy[Missing Credit]
Skiing
There are four Israelis bidding “slalom aleichem” to the slopes this year, in three different disciplines. They include Hungarian-born siblings Barnabás and Noa Szőllős, alpine skiers who shared their pre-tournament thoughts with the JC last week. Barnabás, who is representing Israel in four events, finished sixth in the combined downhill at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, matching the nation’s best ever finish at the competition. Younger sister Noa will join him in Italy, competing in two events.
A third Jewish alpine skier, Sheina Vaspi, is Israel’s sole winter Paralympian and will take to the slopes in March. She became the nation’s first winter Paralympian when she competed in the giant slalom event in Beijing, finishing 15th. She had also planned to compete in the slalom standing event but missed it due to her strictly Orthodox observance when a last-minute schedule alteration meant it clashed with Shabbat.
Attila Mihály Kertész, another Hungarian-born athlete, will compete in the men’s 10km classical event in cross-country skiing. His journey to the slopes of Italy has been far from orthodox – now 37 years old, he only took the sport up eight years ago, and he makes his living as a veterinarian in Thailand.
Finally, Avital Carroll will represent Austria in mogul skiing. She switched allegiance from the US after a 2022 law change in Austria granted her citizenship as a descendant of someone expelled during the Holocaust, and is guided by her coach Bobby Carroll, who is also her husband.
Figure skating prodigy Mariia Seniuk (Photo: Getty)Getty Images
Skating
Mariia Seniuk was born in Russia in 2005 and switched allegiance to Israel in 2019. The figure skating prodigy was one of the nation’s flagbearers at the opening ceremony and will hope to build on her 13th-place finish in last year’s European Championships when she competes in the women’s singles in Italy.
Meanwhile, US speed skater Emery Lehman is making his fourth Winter Olympics appearance. Originally taking up speed skating as a nine-year-old to help with his hockey skills, he improved rapidly to the point that he took home bronze for the US in the team pursuit. He will be competing in the men’s 1500m this time around.
Jewish American Korey Dropkin competes in the the curling mixed doubles the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games (Photo: Getty)Getty Images
Curling
Curling is arguably the Winter Olympics’ most talked-about sport in Britain. Korey Dropkin, of the US, is a former world champion in the mixed doubles format. He is competing alongside the same partner, Cory Thiesse, at this year’s event, hoping to add an Olympic medal to his already extensive collection of awards from other competitions.
Jared Firestone has eight podium finishes at International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation competitions[Missing Credit]
Skeleton
Skeleton racer Jared Firestone held the Israeli flag alongside Seniuk in Friday’s ceremony, during which he wore a kippah bearing the names of the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches murdered by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The 35-year-old skeleton racer has eight podium finishes at International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation competitions and will be hoping to make it nine this month.
The Winter Olympic Games 2026 is taking place in Milano Cortina until 22 February. The Paralympic Winter Games will run from March 6 to March 15, also in Milano Cortina. Coverage of the Games in the UK is split between the BBC and TNT Sports.
Aerin Frankel of Team United States is the women's ice hockey team's goaltender (Photo: Getty)Getty Images