The balmy beaches of Tel Aviv seem a world away from the icy mountains of northern Italy — not just a few hours’ flight.

For the next two weeks, a small but proud delegation of athletes will be bridging that gap as they represent Israel at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

Nine Olympians and one Paralympian will fly the blue and white flag proudly in the frigid winds, aiming to make history for a country not known for its winter sport achievements. Israel has never won a Winter Olympics medal — although it has clinched 20 in total in the Summer Games — and that is highly unlikely to change this year.

“We feel the responsibility on our shoulders and the privilege of continuing to fly the Israeli flag in every location, and global sport is an incredible opportunity for that,” Yael Arad, the president of the Olympic Committee of Israel, told reporters during a press briefing in December. “We will be one of 90-something countries [there], and we’re very proud of that.”

Israel, said Arad, “is not a winter country; we’re not a country that specializes in winter.” Despite that, she added, “we expect to raise the Israeli flag and achieve the best results that our athletes can.”

Like at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, security is of top concern for Israel’s delegation, and protests against its participation are expected in both Milan and the ski resort of Cortina D’Ampezzo. At the Olympic torch relay in December, Italian police stopped pro-Palestinian activists from disrupting the proceedings.

Figure skater Mariia Seniuk is slated to be Israel’s flagbearer at the Milan opening ceremony on Friday, while skeleton athlete Jared Firestone will have the same honor at the simultaneous Cortina ceremony. The cities are more than a 4-hour drive apart, and the sporting events are split between the two locations.

Unlike at the Summer Games, Israel is not likely to face any drama relating to athletes from hostile countries backing out of matches or refusing to shake hands. None of the sports Israel will be competing in — nor the vast majority of the Winter Olympics disciplines — involve head-to-head matchups.

Here’s a look at the 10 athletes representing Israel at this year’s Games:

Mariia Seniuk, 20, Israel’s only figure skater at this year’s games, will be making her Olympic debut.

Born in Moscow, Seniuk has been skating since age 4, and moved with her family to Israel at age 8. In recent years, she has returned to Moscow to enable her to train on the highest level, due to limited infrastructure in Israel.

But Seniuk said she remains proud to compete under the Israeli flag on the world stage.

“Today there is so much antisemitism and many negative things said about Israel, but I feel like a Jew who is very proud to represent Israel,” she said in a December interview with the Makor Rishon newspaper. “When I’m competing, I’m........

© The Times of Israel