"Despite the Summer Olympics being postponed until 2021 due to COVID-19, the training must go on for those preparing for next summer’s rescheduled Games, as well as those with their eyes set on the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. One local South Floridian is doing just that."
“He comes to us with a pretty impressive sprint background. He’s probably our first and only true sprinter. He comes from a track and field background and we’ve never had an athlete like that before competing for us, so we’re excited about that. As he was part of the U.S. development program, he’s not learning this sport, so he’s actually ready to jump in and compete. We’re super pleased.”
"Firestone saw the winter sport Skeleton...and decided life was too short to bury his face in Torts and Constitutional Law books - instead it should be buried in ice as he slider under 5-G's of pressure at 80 miles per hour!"
“Clean runs are few and far between, especially when you are first starting out,” Firestone says. “Your arms are exposed off the sides and the ice on the walls is not smooth like the ice on a rink, and there are some pretty serious cuts and bruises, but I’ve been pretty lucky . . . so far so good.”
But it was a failure of luck, Firestone says, that brought him to such a busy crossroad.
In this Q&A with my alma mater, Scheck Hillel Community School, I discuss the important role my Jewish education has played in my career path, the honor of donning the Star of David as I compete in countries that tried their best to prevent that from ever happening, and give a reading recommendation for those looking to combat anti-semitic/anti-Israel rhetoric.
My outlook dramatically changed when I participated in the March of the Living (MOTL) in 2008. The March will always be the most meaningful trip of my life. Being in Poland, standing on the same ground where not so long ago my people suffered the worst human atrocity of all time, gave me a much greater understanding of the importance that we never forget what happened. Also, having the opportunity to travel from Poland to Israel in the same trip instilled an appreciation for Israel I never had before.
Olympic bobsledder and skeleton racers test their stuff in preparation for the highest level of competition in their sport pushing themselves every day to increase their track speeds by fractions of a second. One of those professional athletes is. Jared Firestone.
