The delegation grew: windsurfer Dor Zarka secured the ticket to the Olympic Games

Windsurfer Dor Zarka today (Thursday) secured the quota (ticket) for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the Kate Foyle model, after a particularly exciting sequence of medal cruises in the last chance competition in Hyre, France. These are the first Olympic Games in which the model participates.

Zarka qualified for the semifinals of the medal races yesterday from sixth place, which gave him a bonus victory in the semifinals, against opponents from Poland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland. In order to secure the quota for Israel, Zarka had to finish among one of the first five countries in the competition.

The first race in the semi-finals was fully controlled by the Czech competitor, who won his first victory point and equaled the throw. In the second race the Polish competitor safely led meters from the line. finish and it looks like he will go to the final, but his fall in the last straight prevented him from winning, which went to the Swiss. The semi-finals at this point had three competitors with one win and one competitor with two wins.

The third race opened with the Czech competitor leading, but a correct decision by Zarka upon reaching the third buoy gave him the lead, which he maintained until the end. In doing so he equaled the Pole with two wins. And whoever wins the next race will qualify for the final and secure the ticket.

The deciding race opened with defensive surfing by all the contestants who kept one stick, when Zarka was very close to the Pole who led the race. In the end, the Pole won the cruise and qualified for the final, thus Zerka finished the competition in sixth place overall, while the Israeli was the fifth country, thus securing the ticket to Paris for Israel.

Zarka said upon exiting the water: “There were crazy medal races with a lot of upheavals, I’ve never had anything like that before and I’m super happy that I was able to get the ticket to Israel, especially during this time. The work of the whole team was amazing, and we pushed each other. Our coach, Shaf Amir Made us all reach this competition at the peak of our abilities, and the professional coach Eran Sela has a huge part in this achievement.”

Shaf Amir, coach of the Kate Foyle team: “Dor was able to excel at the moment of truth, reach this competition with high ability and secure the ticket to Israel by virtue. The performance of the entire team was impressive and it is a great pride to reach such an important competition, to be able to represent the country with honor and to grow the sailing team The Olympian with another representative”.

Following the achievement, the Olympic delegation of the Sailing Association grew to eight male and female athletes in seven models, the largest Olympic delegation that the association has ever sent to the Olympic Games. The athletes confirmed so far are Sharon Kantor and Tom Reuveni in windsurfing, Nitai Hasson and Noa Lasri in the mixed 470 boats, Shai Kakon in the ILCA6 boats and Gal Zuckerman in the women’s Kate Foyle. After Passover, the Committee for the Selection of Olympic Representatives of the Sailing Association will meet in order to decide on the identity of the Israeli representative in the Kate Foyle and ILCA7 boats.

Shay Bover, Chairman of the Sailing Association: “An additional quota in the men’s keet and an excellent personal achievement for Dor Zarka. Congratulations to him and coach Shaf Amir who is doing an excellent job. The Sailing Association reached a record achievement with the representation of 7 models at the Olympic Games.”