Junior Josh Bachrach won six medals—including three golds—in track and field at the JCC Maccabi Games in Atlanta over the summer.

Bachrach won a bronze medal in the 800 meters, silver medals in the shotput and 1600 meters and gold medals in the 5000 meters, 3200 meters and 400 meters. Bachrach also participated in the discus and long jump.

“The fact of making [CES]JDS proud and making my team proud [kept me going],” Bachrach said. 

Bachrach thinks that he won medals in longer-distance running more easily than in shorter races because track and field is not primarily a long-distance sport. While many racers practiced mainly for shorter events, Bachrach also trained for longer events due to his interest in cross-country. 

JDS running coach Jason Belinkie, however, believes that Bachrach’s commitment to running and improving himself was what caused him such success. 

“I think Josh’s mentality is a really big strength. I think he’s a really even-keeled person in general, and that serves him well in running,” Belinkie said. “I think that he’s a very consistent runner, and I think that we usually get what we expect from him in races, and that’s unusual.”

Bachrach was not always sure if he would have time to be as committed to running over the summer as he was. According to Belinkie, Bachrach wrote to him over the summer, concerned about not having enough time to run. This was Josh’s “defining moment:” He sacrificed what little free time he had over the summer—when he had both camp and driver’s education—in order to keep running. 

“We all have stuff over the summer. You just have to decide if this is a priority for you to build it in.…” Belinkie said. “He is absolutely one of a couple of people that I look to, and I know that other people look to on the team as providing the right example for everyone else.” 

As a new team captain, Bachrach will be able to set an example and inspire other runners at JDS. 

“I think he’s earned that. Even though he was not a captain last year, he very much filled the role of being captain,” Belinkie said.