American Jewish speedskater Emery Lehman wins silver in final Winter Olympics

JTA – Emery Lehman, a Jewish speedskater and four-time Olympian, captured a silver medal in the men’s team pursuit on Tuesday, 17 February, his second career medal. 

Lehman, 29, and his teammates, Casey Dawson and Ethan Cepuran, finished 4.51 seconds behind the host country, Italy, in what was considered an unexpected loss for the United States. Since the 2021-2022 season, Lehman’s team had set three world records and won five straight World Cup season titles, the 2022 Olympic bronze medal, and a 2025 world championship. 

Lehman has said he plans to retire from speedskating after the 2026 Olympics. 

“Eight years ago, none of us had skated a team pursuit together,” Lehman said after the race, according to NBC. “Now, to be finishing off with two Olympic medals, I’m pretty proud of it.” 

Lehman, a Chicago native, took up speedskating at nine years old to improve his ice hockey skills at the urging of his mother, Marcia. Marcia Lehman is a former executive at Chicago’s Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership and at the American Friends of the Hebrew University of Israel. She is also an alum of the Yeshiva of Flatbush, according to her social media. 

Emery Lehman went on a Birthright trip to Israel in May 2018. 

“Unreal experience seeing those who fought for Israel throughout the years,” Lehman wrote in a post from Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem. “Seeing all sorts of graves from such a diverse group of people fighting to keep the people in Israel safe was very touching.”