Gal Fridman
Encyclopedia
Gal Fridman is an Israel
i windsurfer and Olympic
gold medal
ist.
He was born in Karkur, Israel
, and lives in nearby kibbutz
Sdot Yam
.
Fridman won a bronze medal
in the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics
, and a 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. Fittingly, his first name, Gal, means "wave" in Hebrew.
In 2005, he was voted the 25th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
and began competing in adult categories.
In 1995, he won the ASA Boardsailing Championship in Eilat, Israel. In 1999, he won the International ASA Windsurfing Championship in Eilat. Despite his form in the previous year, he failed to qualify to the Sydney 2000 Olympics
.
In 2002, he won the Mistral World Championship in Pattaya, Thailand
, and in February 2003, Fridman was listed #1 on the International Sailing Federation
rankings.
Atlanta 1996
In 1996, Gal Fridman won an Olympic bronze medal for Israel
in the Mistral
men's windsurfing category, and was named Israeli Sportsman of the Year.
Athens 2004
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.
In Athens, Fridman again competed in the Mistral windsurfer sailing
, a discipline that included 11 races. Fridman's results were:
(Note: the worst race score is omitted)
In the last race on August 25, 2004, Fridman exploited a poor performance by Brazilian leader Ricardo Santos
and a tactical mistake by Greek windsurfer Nikolaos Kaklamanakis
in order to burst forward and finish the final race second, thus earning the gold medal overall. He achieved an overall total of 50 negative points, and a net total of 42 negative points. Since this was the lowest negative score in the competition, Fridman earned first place and received the first Olympic gold medal ever won for Israel.
Final positions:
The President of Israel
, Moshe Katsav
, the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon
, and other senior Israeli officials and politicians at the time called Fridman to congratulate him. The minister of Education, Culture, and Sports, Limor Livnat
, flew to Athens for the awards ceremony.
He dedicated his medal to the memory of the 11 Israeli athletes assassinated
by members of the Black September
organization, during the Munich Olympics
(1972).
In 2007, he won the Men's Windsurfer New Year International Regatta in Limassol, Cyprus
.
Approaching the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Fridman found it hard to adjust to the model replacing the Mistral windsurfer – the RS:X Neil Pryde windsurfer, and failed to qualify for the Olympic team. A young and promising windsurfer by the name of Shahar Tzuberi took his place.
After 2008, Fridman no longer competes in windsurfing, having made the switch to coaching. He guided Nimrod Mashiah
to the silver medal in the 2009 World Championship.
He married Michal Peleg in August 2005, his girlfriend for the past ten years. In June 2005 his medals were stolen from his parents' home after a robbery, but the gold medal was retained. In July 2009, his wife welcomed a baby girl, Ella.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i windsurfer and Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
ist.
He was born in Karkur, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and lives in nearby kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
Sdot Yam
Sdot Yam
Sdot Yam is a kibbutz in the Haifa District of Israel on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.It was founded in 1936 and moved to its present site at the southern border of the ancient city and archeological ruins of Caesarea, in 1940...
.
Fridman won a bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
in the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
, and a gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
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. Fittingly, his first name, Gal, means "wave" in Hebrew.
In 2005, he was voted the 25th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
Ynet
Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
Early life & windsurfing career
Fridman is Jewish. 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. Introduced by his father to windsurfing, Fridman started sailing at age 7, and racing at age 11. His earliest international competitions were in youth categories during his school years (1989 & 1991), after which he served in the IDFIsrael Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
and began competing in adult categories.
In 1995, he won the ASA Boardsailing Championship in Eilat, Israel. In 1999, he won the International ASA Windsurfing Championship in Eilat. Despite his form in the previous year, he failed to qualify to the Sydney 2000 Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
.
In 2002, he won the Mistral World Championship in Pattaya, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and in February 2003, Fridman was listed #1 on the International Sailing Federation
International Sailing Federation
The International Sailing Federation is recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the world governing body for the sport of sailing....
rankings.
Atlanta 19961996 Summer OlympicsThe 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
In 1996, Gal Fridman won an Olympic bronze medal for IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in the Mistral
Windsurfing
Windsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
men's windsurfing category, and was named Israeli Sportsman of the Year.
Athens 20042004 Summer OlympicsThe 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
Fridman was one of Israel's Olympic team favorites to a win a medal (along with judoka Ariel ZeeviAriel Zeevi
Ariel "Arik" Ze'evi is an Israeli judoka, widely recognized as the country's most prominent judoka during the nineties and until this day....
and athlete Aleksander Averbukh), and prepared intensively for the Olympic Games two years prior to the event.
In Athens, Fridman again competed in the Mistral windsurfer sailing
Sailing at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Sailing at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at the Agios Kosmas Olympic Sailing Centre with eleven events being contested.The events were split into four classes for men, four for women, and three mixed classes that were open to both men and women...
, a discipline that included 11 races. Fridman's results were:
| Race | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | (8) | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 2 |
(Note: the worst race score is omitted)
In the last race on August 25, 2004, Fridman exploited a poor performance by Brazilian leader Ricardo Santos
Ricardo Santos
Ricardo Alex Costa Santos is a beach volleyball player from Brazil, who won the silver medal in the men's beach team competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, with partner Zé Marco de Melo....
and a tactical mistake by Greek windsurfer Nikolaos Kaklamanakis
Nikolaos Kaklamanakis
Nikolaos "Nikos" Kaklamanakis is the Greek Gold-medal winner who lit the Olympic torch in the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens....
in order to burst forward and finish the final race second, thus earning the gold medal overall. He achieved an overall total of 50 negative points, and a net total of 42 negative points. Since this was the lowest negative score in the competition, Fridman earned first place and received the first Olympic gold medal ever won for Israel.
Final positions:
- Gal Fridman – IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
(gold medalGold medalA gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
) - Nikolaos KaklamanakisNikolaos KaklamanakisNikolaos "Nikos" Kaklamanakis is the Greek Gold-medal winner who lit the Olympic torch in the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens....
– Greece (silver medalSilver medalA silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
) - Nick DempseyNick DempseyNick Dempsey is an English windsurfer, who lives in Weymouth. He married Sarah Ayton in October 2008 just 2 months after their gold medal victories. In June 2009, they had a son, Thomas-Flynn....
– Great Britain (bronze medalBronze medalA bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
) - Ricardo Santos – Brazil
- Przemysław Miarczyński – Poland
The President of Israel
President of Israel
The President of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel. The position is largely an apolitical ceremonial figurehead role, with the real executive power lying in the hands of the Prime Minister. The current president is Shimon Peres who took office on 15 July 2007...
, Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav is an Israeli politician. He served as the eighth President of Israel, a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset, and a Cabinet Minister in its government....
, the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
, and other senior Israeli officials and politicians at the time called Fridman to congratulate him. The minister of Education, Culture, and Sports, Limor Livnat
Limor Livnat
is an Israeli politician who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Likud, and as the country's Minister of Culture & Sport.-Biography:Born in Haifa, Livnat is the only member of Knesset not to have a secondary education...
, flew to Athens for the awards ceremony.
He dedicated his medal to the memory of the 11 Israeli athletes assassinated
Munich massacre
The Munich massacre is an informal name for events that occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Bavaria in southern West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by the Palestinian group Black September. Members of Black September...
by members of the Black September
Black September (group)
The Black September Organization was a Palestinian paramilitary group, founded in 1970. It was responsible for the kidnapping and murder of eleven Israeli athletes and officials, and fatal shooting of a West German policeman, during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, their most publicized event...
organization, during the Munich Olympics
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
(1972).
Achievements
| Year | Tournament | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Mistral European Championship | 2nd |
| 1996 | Mistral World Championship | 2nd |
| 1996 | Olympic Games, Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.... |
3rd |
| 1997 | Mistral European Championship | 3rd |
| 1999 | International ASA Windsurfing Championship | 1st |
| 2002 | Mistral European Championship | 2nd |
| 2002 | Mistral World Championship, Thailand Thailand Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the... |
1st |
| 2003 | ISAF International Sailing Federation The International Sailing Federation is recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the world governing body for the sport of sailing.... World Championship |
3rd |
| 2004 | Olympic Games, Athens 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team... |
1st |
Career after 2004 Olympics
Fridman won a gold medal in the Israeli cycling championship in 2005.In 2007, he won the Men's Windsurfer New Year International Regatta in Limassol, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
.
Approaching the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Fridman found it hard to adjust to the model replacing the Mistral windsurfer – the RS:X Neil Pryde windsurfer, and failed to qualify for the Olympic team. A young and promising windsurfer by the name of Shahar Tzuberi took his place.
After 2008, Fridman no longer competes in windsurfing, having made the switch to coaching. He guided Nimrod Mashiah
Nimrod Mashiah
Nimrod Mashiah , born 1988, is an Israeli windsurfer. He is the 2009 world vice-champion.-References:...
to the silver medal in the 2009 World Championship.
He married Michal Peleg in August 2005, his girlfriend for the past ten years. In June 2005 his medals were stolen from his parents' home after a robbery, but the gold medal was retained. In July 2009, his wife welcomed a baby girl, Ella.