Four athletes made the cut for Milan after earlier qualifying team decided not to send its full allocation of athletes
Israel’s bobsleigh team on Thursday qualified for the first time for the Winter Olympics, which will be held next month at sites across Lombardy and northeastern Italy.
Initially, the four-man team finished one slot shy of making the cut, but cleared it anyway after one of the qualifying teams, Great Britain, opted out of using its full allocation of athletes, opening the slots to the Israeli team.
The bobsleigh athletes finished high enough in the world rankings that Israel was next in line for a quota. Pilots and teams need to compete in several international races organized by the sport’s governing body, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, to qualify for the Winter Olympics. Results from those races are tallied into the IBSF combined ranking lists that determine eligibility.