!~!Windsurfer Gal Friedman wins Israel's first ever Olympic GOLD!~!

[[MakkabI]]

Gal Friedman won Israel's first Olympic gold medal ever in the 2004 Olympics Wednesday.

Dempsey moved into first place with Gal trailing him by 18 seconds into the third float.

The route had been shortened and ended at the 4th float, and Friedman advanced towards the finishing line neck-to-neck just behind British contender Nick Dempsy.

Placing, however, was determined in relation to Santos, who placed 16th, and Gal placed first. He immediately pulled out his Israeli flag and draped it over himself

He was followed by Greek contender Nikos Kaklamanakis who came in second.

Gal's teammates congregated on and around his surfboard after the race, squealing like children and hugging each other in a festival of pure joy. Television and radio presenters choked on their words.

"Gal executed a brilliant race today that brought him in first," Gal's coach Gur Steinberg told Israel Television. "We have a lot of experience and our strategy doesn't stand in the way of Gals freedom to do what he feels is necessary."

"There were moments I was worried but the good guys always win," Gal said. "The feeling is great. It's a dream. I was focused all the time and I wasn't scared of the pressure. This is definitely the best way to win."

"At the start of the race, I was feeling a bit drained, but I suddenly felt a surge of energy, and I'm sure it was the energies of all those who are waiting for me back home," he said.

The Friedmans saw the race at the home of Gal's aunt in Carcur. Friends and family, whose cars filled the driveway and road, flowed into the kitchen and living room so that interviews were nearly impossible.

Gal's father Uri told Israel Radio that all his children love windsurfing. "I've been sleeping a lot less lately, but it's all part of the game," he said. "Gal wrote to me that he slept better than we did."

Gal's parents thanked everyone for their support. His mother said she didn't believe her son would necessarily rest, but would probably start preparing for Beijing.

Friedman's final race in the men's Mistral windsurfing competition was the event Israeli sports fans have been waiting generations for. Friedman is the first Israeli athlete to win two Olympic medals, having won bronze in 1996.

Points are calculated according to the finishing order of each race, i.e. one point for a first-place finish, two for second, three for third, etc.

In the overall standings, the worst result for each sailor in any of the eleven races is disregarded. Since Friedman's worst result was eighth place in the first race, while Santos's poorest finish was 17th in the sixth race and Kaklamanakis came in 14th in the fourth sail, the Israeli had more room for error on Wednesday.

After Monday's races, Friedman told reporters that it would "be better for me to have stronger winds because the only one who is really good in strong winds is Przemyslaw [Miarczynski of Poland], who cannot pass me in the overall [standings]."

At the time of the race, the Hellenic National Meteorological Service predicted northeast winds blowing at over five meters per second.

Source: Jerusalem Post

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Gal Friedman took the gold medal for the windsurfing event in Athens on Wednesday, Israel's first ever gold at the Olympics.




Friedman - the first Israeli to win two Olympic medals after winning the bronze in 1996 - finished the last of the 11 races in second place, but took the gold by scoring 42 points.

The silver went to Nikos Kaklamanakis of Greece, who finished with 52 points and Nick Dempsey of Britain won bronze.

After Friedman crossed the finish line, he took a victory dip and then wrapped himself in an Israeli flag when he came out of the water.

Residents of Friedman's hometown of Karkur, near Hadera, streamed to the family's house to celebrate, Israeli media said.

"It's very, very hard to believe that he succeeded in doing this," said Friedman's father, Uri.

President Moshe Katsav congratulated Friedman and invited him for a meeting to give him a "hug."

"I'm happy together with everyone about this win," Katsav said. "We all had great expectations that Gal would do this."

"Today, Gal simply raced with a lot of confidence and
he deserved this victory," said his trainer Gur Steinburg. "Thanks to the entire country for all its support... This shows that we can beat other countries."

Going into the race, the athlete under the greatest pressure was Brazilian Ricardo Santos, who had a two-point lead over Friedman and was five points ahead of Kaklamanakis. Santos finished 17th in Wednesday's race.

After winning the 10th race Monday, Santos - Friedman's runner-up at the world championship at Pataya in 2002 - jumped for joy because he thought his gold medal was in the bag. His coach, Fernando Armel, who has seen plenty of last-minute changes in the last race, calmed him down.

Source: Haaretz



Windsurfer Gal Friedman celebrating his gold medal - Israel's first ever - at the Athens Olympics on Wednesday.

[[MakkabI]]

Mazal Tov ` Gal Friedman!~!

:d

[RoM]

Congrats Gal!!!! you made us all proud

[[MakkabI]]

Gal Fridman of Israel celebrates winning the gold medal in the men's windsurfer mistral finals race on 25/08/2004


Gal Fridman of Israel celebrates his gold medal in the men's windsurfer mistral event on 25/08/2004


Gold medal winner Gal Fridman biting his gold medal during the award ceremony at the Athens on Wednesday.


Windsurfer Gal Fridman singing the Israeli national anthem, Hatikva, as he received his gold medal in Athens on Wednesday.

[SydneyDude]

Thats really great news for Israel, well done.

[MTL-514]

amazing news - I'm guessing Israel must have celebrated big-time

[Christos7]

I'm really happy when countries win their first gold... Israel will always remember Athens. Congrats.

[wavetrust25]

It is a great accomplishment. He is indeed a great rider. If you are into this sport you can find more about windsurfing here... events, reviews, destinations, rider profiles and more... hope it helps!

[M-120]

Sweet, nice site. Thanks.