Cross-country pair Stone and Torrango prove their progress with podium finishes
TWO JEWISH cross-country athletes have been excelling on both the national and international stage, recording podium finishes at prestigious events.
Competing in his first senior race at the UK National Cross Country Championships, David Stone, 21, won bronze on his return from a four-year injury layoff. During a year studying in Israel over the past year, he finished sixth in their National Cross Country and then runner-up in the Tiberias 10K Road race.
Stone was also selected for British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) to run for Birmingham, where he finished ninth, helping his team to second place.
His fellow Birmingham University student Tomer Torrango, 22, fared even better, finishing fifth, and he also represented England in Belgium in the Lotto XC event, where he also posted a fifth-place finish.
One of four automatic qualifiers for the GB U23 Euro XC team — which won the event — his story, unlike Stone’s, is of steady improvement. It has come about thanks to hard training, and his progress has only been interrupted by a cycling accident, which left him grounded for a couple of months.
Looking ahead to the rest of the year, Stone is looking to stay fully fit, which will allow him to compete in a string of races. His progress this winter has been an unexpected bonus and his successes come on top of his national U17 cross country title, Maccabiah Gold in the junior men’s 3K in 2017 and his previous caps for England.
The hope is both runners stay injuryfree, which will hopefully lead to more medals and international appearances.