Gal Fridman

Gal Fridman (or Friedman, Hebrew: גל פרידמן‎; born September 16, 1975) is an Israeli windsurfer and Israel's only Olympic Gold Medalist. Fridman won a Bronze Medal in the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics, and his Gold Medal in the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics. He is the only Israeli athlete to win two Olympic Medals, and the first (and only, thus far) Olympic Gold medalist in Israeli history. His first name, Gal, means "wave" in Hebrew.

Gal Fridman
Fridman in action
Personal information
EthnicityJewish
Born (1975-09-16) September 16, 1975
Karkur, Israel
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Weight68 kg (150 lb)[1]
Other interestsCycling
Sport
CountryIsrael
SportSailing
Event(s)Mistral
ClubSdot Yam
Coached byMike Gebhardt
Retired2008
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking1st (Mistral, 2003)
25th (RS:X, 2007)
Medal record
Sailing
Representing  Israel
Olympic Games
2004 AthensMistral
1996 AtlantaMistral
Windsurfing World Championships
2002 PattayaMistral
1996 HaifaMistral
2003 CadizMistral
Updated on August 8, 2012.

He was born in Karkur, Israel, and lives close to the water in Sdot Yam, a nearby kibbutz.

Early life and career

Fridman was born in Karkur, Israel, to an Ashkenazi Jewish family.[2] The second out of three children, Fridman was born to Dganit and Uri Fridman, and has an older sister named Maayan and a younger brother named Yuval. Growing up close to the Mediterranean Sea, Gal was Introduced by his father to Windsurfing, Fridman started sailing at age 7, and began racing when he was 11. He began competing internationally in youth categories while still at school. After his service in the Israel Defense Forces he began competing as an adult.[3]

In 1995, he won the ASA Boardsailing Championship in Eilat, Israel. In 1999, he won the International ASA Windsurfing Championship in Eilat. In 2002, he won the Mistral World Championship held in Pattaya, Thailand,[3] and was ranked #1 on the International Sailing Federation rankings in February 2003.[4]

1996 Summer Olympic Games, Atlanta
Main article: Sailing at the 1996 Summer Olympics

At the 1996 Summer Olympics, Fridman won a Bronze Medal for Israel in the Olympic Sailing Windsurfing Event (Mistral Men's Windsurfing category), and was named Israeli Sportsman of the Year.[3]

2000 Summer Olympics, Sydney, Australia
Main article: Sailing at the 2000 Summer Olympics

Despite his form in the previous years, he failed to win the Israeli Olympic Trials and did not represent Israel in the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Amit Inbar represented Israel in the 2000 Olympics and finished 7th overall.

2004 Summer Olympics, Athens, Greece
Main article: Sailing at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Back on form leading up to the 2004 Olympics, Fridman was one of Israel's Olympic Team favorites to a win a Medal (along with judoka Ariel Zeevi and athlete Aleksander Averbukh), and prepared intensively for the Olympic Games two years prior to the event. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Fridman again competed in the Olympic Windsurfing Discipline of Sailing (Mistral Windsurfer Class), a discipline that included 11 races.

Fridman was coached by retired Olympic Windsurfing Silver (1992) and Bronze Medalist (1988) Michael Gebhardt from the US.

Race 1234567891011
Place (8)3551751852

(Note: the worst race score is thrown out)

In the last race on August 25, 2004, Fridman finished a hard fought 2nd, exploiting a tactical mistake made by Brazilian leader Ricardo Santos and beat Greek windsurfer Nikolaos Kaklamanakis in order to end the Olympic Regatta with the lowest score, (42 points) thus earning the 2004 Olympic Gold Medal in Windsurfing. Olympic Sailing events scores are tabulated with the lowest score (best results combines) winning. Fridman won Israel's one and only Olympic Gold Medal.

Final Results

1st- Gal Fridman – Israel (Gold Medal)

2nd- Nikolaos Kaklamanakis – Greece (Silver Medal)

3rd- Nick Dempsey – Great Britain (Bronze Medal)

4th- Ricardo Santos – Brazil

5th- Przemysław Miarczyński – Poland

2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing, China
Main article: Sailing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Approaching the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Fridman found it hard to adjust to the new Olympic Windsurf board model, the RS:X Neil Pryde windsurfer. Also he had some crucial equipment failures at key Olympic trail regattas and failed to qualify for the 2008 Israeli Olympic Sailing Team. Shahar Tzuberi took his place and went on to win the 2008 Olympic Bronze Medal for Israel.

Later years

Fridman, an avid cyclist, won a Gold Medal in the Israeli cycling championship in 2005.[5] In 2007, he won the Men's Windsurfer New Year International Regatta in Limassol, Cyprus.

After 2008, Fridman retired from competition in windsurfing and focused on coaching up and coming Israeli Windsurfers. He guided Nimrod Mashiah to the Silver Medal in the 2009 World Championship.[6]

In June 2005, his Bronze and Gold Olympic Medals were stolen, with only the Gold Medal recovered from the robbery. Fridman currently coaches Israel's top windsurfers preparing for the 2016 RIO Summer Olympics and currently owns a SUP Company. (Stand-Up-Paddle Board) and is involved with helping the SUP Company "Starboard" with SUP R&D and can be found giving motivational speeches worldwide.

Hall of Fame

In 2005, Fridman was named to the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[4]

Achievements
Year Tournament Result
1995 Mistral European Championship 2nd
1996 Mistral World Championship 2nd
1996 Olympic Games, Atlanta 3rd
1997 Mistral European Championship 3rd
1999 International ASA Windsurfing Championship 1st
2001 Mistral European Championship 3nd
2002 Mistral European Championship 2nd
2002 Mistral World Championship, Thailand 1st
2003 ISAF World Championship 3rd
2004 Olympic Games, Athens 1st
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See also

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Gal Fridman". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  2. Taylor, Paul (July 1, 2004). "A Complete Review of Jewish Olympic Medallists". Jews and the Olympic Games: The Clash between Sport and Politics. Brighton, United Kingdom: Sussex Academic Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-1903900871. LCCN 2004000498. OCLC 54046723. OL 8769453M. Retrieved August 8, 2012. Lay summary.
  3. "Gal Fridman, 1975–". Jewish Agency for Israel. Archived from the original on July 2, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  4. "Gal Fridman". International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 8, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  5. "Gal Fridman". Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  6. "Israel's Nimrod Mashiah wins silver at windsurfing world championship". Haaretz. September 10, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
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