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WEDNESDAY February 14, 8:00pm EST NBC
THURSDAY February 15, 7:30pm EST NBC

Practice runs Tuesday 2/13. Video at 0:17 and 1:37

Author Topic: Ask AJ Edelman Anything: DDF Member And Member Of The 2018 Israel Olympic Team!  (Read 77477 times)

Online noturbizniss

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This is so cool! congrats @hgeek23
make us all proud to know you...as DDFers, oh- and as jews.
the way i read the schedule, will it be 8pm EST on both 2/14 and 2/15?
4 hour window
READ THE DARN WIKI!!!!

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Offline hgeek23

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    • Israel Olympian AJ Edelman / Israel Bobsled BobTeam Edelman
  • Location: A bobsled track going 90mph, or in a plane doing 500.
  • Programs: Sleeping-on-couches (Hachnasat Orchim) Diamond
Wow. That's pretty crazy. And I see a Russian won gold in Russia too (before having it vacated).

Seems like the Latvian dude was dominant, but hasn't struck Olympic gold because the home field advantage seems to put the local contender over the top every time. Though the Korean is in first place for this years World Cup, so not sure how much home field advantage he'd need anyway.

Martins grew up at the Latvian track and has done the sport since he was little. He was disqualified at a competition this year and lost major world cup points for it. I have no doubt the home track advantage will play heavily to Yun"'s favor.

Offline hgeek23

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    • Israel Olympian AJ Edelman / Israel Bobsled BobTeam Edelman
  • Location: A bobsled track going 90mph, or in a plane doing 500.
  • Programs: Sleeping-on-couches (Hachnasat Orchim) Diamond
This is so cool! congrats @hgeek23
make us all proud to know you...as DDFers, oh- and as jews.
the way i read the schedule, will it be 8pm EST on both 2/14 and 2/15?

Both heats are run with about a 45 minute break between the two. I'm not sure how NBC handles the timing though. Unfortunately.

Offline henche

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If you had doped, would you then be able to win?

Offline hgeek23

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    • Israel Olympian AJ Edelman / Israel Bobsled BobTeam Edelman
  • Location: A bobsled track going 90mph, or in a plane doing 500.
  • Programs: Sleeping-on-couches (Hachnasat Orchim) Diamond
If you had doped, would you then be able to win?
It's a seriously good question. Doping is huge. There's 2 kinds in our sport. Equipment doping is a huge issue whereby athletes can use coatings or steel on the blades that is illegal.
Doping with drugs is also hugely problematic and provides an advantage at the start. I would never dope, it's just not worth the long term Effects, though it would be a massive help for sure.  But my role as an Israeli athlete guides most of my decisions. Doping is a selfish decision. I represent our people and would never risk losing their placement for something so selfish.

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Doping is a selfish decision. I represent our people and would never risk losing their placement for something so selfish.
Unless you're Russian. Then you wouldn't be representing your people if you didn't dope. ;D

Offline henche

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The blades aren't steel? What are they

Offline hgeek23

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    • Israel Olympian AJ Edelman / Israel Bobsled BobTeam Edelman
  • Location: A bobsled track going 90mph, or in a plane doing 500.
  • Programs: Sleeping-on-couches (Hachnasat Orchim) Diamond
The blades aren't steel? What are they
The blades are a 316L stainless steel provided by Kohler, with a maximum hardness brinnell 280. However if you can modify the steel to be harder it's a huge advantage since under the 5 gforces they'll bend less, and therefore cause less friction. My runners have always tested very low at 220 brinnell or so, so runner doping hurts me very much.

Offline henche

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What makes yours only 220? Is it just a question of purchasing enough runners until you find one that is 280?

Offline hgeek23

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    • Israel Olympian AJ Edelman / Israel Bobsled BobTeam Edelman
  • Location: A bobsled track going 90mph, or in a plane doing 500.
  • Programs: Sleeping-on-couches (Hachnasat Orchim) Diamond
What makes yours only 220? Is it just a question of purchasing enough runners until you find one that is 280?
Yes.
But the runner makers, of which there are three people who really make runners, might provide the higher hardness sets to larger Nations they have contracts with or who spend more money.

Runners are not just steel, they have a cutting blade for half the length. We balance like a rocking chair on a small few mm part of the runner between the round portion and the cutting knife portion. Too far forward balancing on the round and we skid sideways. Too far backwards on the knife we cut too much ice and go slowly.
Here you see the blade portion:

We have different runners for each ice condition and temperature. Deeper grooves and thinner cutting knives for more control, and wider knives for less control. In the picture you can see the cutting knife, and on each side are cut-out grooves. I personally have about 10 different sets. I use a wide spine and shallow grooves when it's warm (so it doesn't cut too much), etc etc.

Online noturbizniss

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@dan, perhaps a ddms post I'm the next couple weeks wishing hgeek23 luck and out support?
READ THE DARN WIKI!!!!

Chuck Norris...
...can still do FT method
...READS THE WIKI!!!

Offline hgeek23

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    • Israel Olympian AJ Edelman / Israel Bobsled BobTeam Edelman
  • Location: A bobsled track going 90mph, or in a plane doing 500.
  • Programs: Sleeping-on-couches (Hachnasat Orchim) Diamond
@Dan, perhaps a ddms post I'm the next couple weeks wishing hgeek23 luck and out support?
Haha, much appreciated.
On another note, someone reached out via my website and asked about if I had any advice as it relates to yids/Israel. I told them I'd put it in the DDF post. I'd say the following.
When I started this 4 years ago Israel was told that I could never make the games, as I couldn't Sprint. Not in 4 years, not in 8. I was also told to my face that Jews don't do sports. That's bs.
I thought "Jews can do anything they want. No one tells me what I can do. " So I made it my goal to do it. Jews have a ton of chutzpah and that should be embraced. Jews and Israelis can do anything.
From the grapevine had a part of that written up.
https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/lifestyle/adam-aj-edelman-israei-skeleton-athlete-winter-olympics

Offline henche

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Why skeleton instead of bobsled?

Offline hgeek23

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  • Location: A bobsled track going 90mph, or in a plane doing 500.
  • Programs: Sleeping-on-couches (Hachnasat Orchim) Diamond
Why skeleton instead of bobsled?
Bobsled is a team sport. Asking other Israelis/Jews to spend their life's savings for 8 years, throw away their careers, and go from wet/cold/anti-Semitic towns to other wet/cold/anti-Semitic towns, without any income... Wasn't going to happen.  There was also something alluring about finishing it on my own. Proving it could happen.
Plus skeleton at 40k/year was half the cost, haha.

Offline hgeek23

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Helmet for the games:
@Dan you can have it for 300k Starwood points :)
I kid, this one isn't for sale 😂





Usually I have the shema...echad and I'm tirtzu on my helmets, and the character is shimshon to show that Israel is a strong Nation under all circumstances. No quotes are allowed on the equipment we the olympics though so Samson it is.

Online skyguy918

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Helmet for the games:
@Dan you can have it for 300k Starwood points :)
I kid, this one isn't for sale 😂
Usually I have the shema...echad and I'm tirtzu on my helmets, and the character is shimshon to show that Israel is a strong Nation under all circumstances. No quotes are allowed on the equipment we the olympics though so Samson it is.
This is awesome. If you can wrangle some Jewish/Israeli press over the course of the Olympics, you can make some money doing merch like this.

Offline whYME

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Bobsled is a team sport. Asking other Israelis/Jews to spend their life's savings for 8 years, throw away their careers, and go from wet/cold/anti-Semitic towns to other wet/cold/anti-Semitic towns, without any income... Wasn't going to happen.
Yup, that's like getting a bunch of Jamaicans to do it. Never gonna happen...
-oh wait, scratch that.

On a more serious note, this is awesome. I'll be rooting for you!

Offline hgeek23

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    • Israel Olympian AJ Edelman / Israel Bobsled BobTeam Edelman
  • Location: A bobsled track going 90mph, or in a plane doing 500.
  • Programs: Sleeping-on-couches (Hachnasat Orchim) Diamond
This is awesome. If you can wrangle some Jewish/Israeli press over the course of the Olympics, you can make some money doing merch like this.
Reselling Skeleton equipment is a low margin business 😆. The helmet plain cost 650eur.

Online skyguy918

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Reselling Skeleton equipment is a low margin business 😆. The helmet plain cost 650eur.
I meant the image on a t-shirt, things of that nature. Think of the way a lot of these youtube stars go about it.

Online noturbizniss

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Countdown to the attacks for portraying shimshon without a shirt/as a muscleman/as a greek/not learning/not as I picture him/not as my rebbe pictures him/etc/etc/etc?
READ THE DARN WIKI!!!!

Chuck Norris...
...can still do FT method
...READS THE WIKI!!!