Surfer Sharon Kantor rushes to the Olympic summit: “I read the wind well and know how to win”

On her 20th birthday, windsurfer Sharon Cantor, for the first time in her adult career, stood on the podium in a major competition for adults, when she won the bronze medal in the IQ Foil World Cup, held in Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. In an interview with ‘Davar’ she says: “I entered the day of the finals from first place, where something opened up in me and I gained confidence.”

It was the best birthday present Kantor could give herself and the beginning of a gradual change of direction on the way to becoming a medal candidate in Paris 2024. After a mediocre start to her first Olympic campaign, Kantor began to crack the system, things began to connect and she raised the bar from competition to competition.

Kantor won the silver medal at the 2023 European Championships, gold at the pre-Olympic competition held at the Olympic complex in Marseille, and the crown jewel was winning the World Championships, in the place where she began her career – in Lanzarote.

“I’m in first place, where else can I aim for?”

The road to the top was not easy and after the first success, Cantor had to gradually build her inner faith. “To be honest, at first I was a little scared, I did one good result and I was a little worried that I would disappoint myself the next time and it wouldn’t be good enough,” Kantor admits. “I’m in first place, where can I aim? I can only go down. But if that’s what you think, you’ll really go down. So I thought less about where I finish, because all the time the abilities of the competitors change and I just come to give my best.” .

The Israeli race for the Olympic ticket was decided only in the World Championship. On her way to the gold, Kantor defeated the outgoing world champion Shahar Tibi (disqualified in the jump-off) who finished in eighth place and Katie Spichkov who finished third. In doing so, she also secured the score needed to be selected as Israel’s representative in the Olympic Games.

“My main goal was to beat my main competitors for the ticket to the Olympics and I realized that for that I need to win a medal at the World Championship. Our level in the team is so high that’s what I expect from myself,” Kantor says. “I was excited to become the world champion, it was as if I had won twice, with a sweet ending to the campaign. When I received official notification that I would be in Paris, I only then realized that it was real. It took me a while, now I understand and contain it better.”

The 21-year-old Kantor from Moshav Avihil in the Emek Hefer Regional Council, absorbed her love for sports from a young age. Her father was a player and the chairman of the Israel Squash Association. She began her journey in the world of surfing at the age of 9, when she joined her older brother at the Makamorat sailing club. At the beginning, she trained at the same time in athletics, but over time she focused on windsurfing. At the age of 13, she won a bronze medal in the European under-15 championship , later won the European Championship up to the age of 17 and the bronze medal in the World Championship for girls.

What do you think are your strengths as a surfer?
“I feel that I am very versatile, I can relatively cope with the existing conditions and I think that my ability is to understand how I can overtake the competitor in front of me. I read the situations relatively well. It is less about my surfing, that is, how I jump well or surf faster or a little faster Slowly. It’s less about these things, but more about who is in front of me and how I overtake her.”

The feeling during the last competitions that Cantor learned to read the wind in a special way. Navigate in the best way and choose the best route on the way to victory. “At the World Championships, I started the sailings not well. But I was able to overtake in the process,” Kantor says. “Our sport, in addition to being very physical, is very technical and you have to know how to surf very well. But even someone who is very fast can still lose, because she was a little less smart in the water. This ability is just as important as how fast I reach. I think it is A skill that I control well.”

“We raised each other to the highest levels”

Israel’s women’s windsurfing team had the most impressive campaign of an Israeli team ever. It started when Daniela Peleg won the silver medal and Maya Morris the bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships. Sharon Kantor won the silver medal at the European Championships in 2023. Shahar Tibi was crowned the world champion and Kati Spichkov the runner-up in 2023. Kantor won the pre-Olympic competition and the 2024 World Championships and Katie Spichkov won the bronze.

A significant part of the team’s success is the special texture that exists between the members of the team. The special friendship we forged and the togetherness that pushes them forward to be the best version of each of them. The team that trained together the entire campaign included Sharon Kantor, Shahar Tibi, Daniela Peleg, Maya Morris and young Tamar Steinberg continue to train together even today with the aim of preparing Kantor the best possible for the games in Paris.

“Our work within the team is super high-quality. Each of us wants to be as successful as possible, but we are girls who first of all get along with each other very well. We are very mature and understand what a team is. We understand that this team needs to stay cohesive and continue working together. On the other hand, each We are competing against each other. There is a big dissonance here, but I think our maturity did a good job.

The women’s team is coached by Shahar Tzuberi, who participated three times as an athlete in the Olympic Games and won the bronze medal in Beijing 2008. Tzuberi brings with him a lot of experience and according to Kantor serves as the team’s glue. “Shahar has a lot of experience. It’s very noticeable. He went through an Olympic campaign several times and I think it’s mainly his greatest experience, that he was there in these situations. He is very sensitive and learns each of us, which is very helpful, because each one needs her own attitude And he knows how to lift us to the highest points.”

At the end of the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, it was decided in the World Sailing Association to change the surfboard from the RSX model to the faster IQ Foil model, which literally flies on the water, and at the same time it was decided to change the competition format. According to the new system, only the first ten from the Golden House are entitled to advance to the medal cruises, which are held in a 3-stage format (quarter, semi and final). The first place goes directly to the final (and actually guarantees a medal), the 2nd and 3rd place go to the semi-finals and the 10-4th places fight in the quarter. The first two in each round advance to the next round.

How do you make the transition and prepare in the best way for the Olympic competition?
“I think the most important thing to remember when we compete is that each day is important in itself for the position on the last day. So I concentrate every day on doing my best and on the day of the finals I try to forget everything that happened until now. Even if I enter from tenth or first place. Forget Everything and tell myself that this is the important day no matter where I come from. From here I need to know how to beat the competition.”

How do you deal with the media pressure and the knowledge that you are a candidate for an Olympic medal?
“I try as little as possible to listen to media pressure. No one really knows how I surf and how I am in the water. The media looks at my results and I know how I feel and how I want things to look. My goal, as in any competition, is to be in the top ten of the medal cruise, there I will bring my abilities and I will of course also enjoy a one-time experience. I want to be in the moment and enjoy it.”

How does it feel to represent Israel these days?
“I think this is something even more special than any normal Olympics. In my opinion, the State of Israel now has a very important message to show that we athletes continue to train and that Israel continues to advance and lead in all fields. To show how strong the State of Israel is. The feeling is that this is our mission as athletes. It took me a long time Understand that this is what I can bring these days.”

“I came to my friends who are fighters and I told them that you are fighting in the end and are now in Gaza and you are the ones who are bringing us the forces,” Kantor says. “Then they say to me, ‘You really bring us the strength.’ So I accept proportion and tell myself that my mission is also very important and it only gives me more strength. To represent the State of Israel now is super exciting. It is truly the most special thing I can do to do and I am very proud that it is me and that I have this option.”