Israeli Windsurfers Dominate World Championships with Gold and Silver

Israeli windsurfer Tamar Steinberg has been crowned the world champion in the Olympic iQFoil class at the World Championships held in Weymouth and Portland, UK. The 20-year-old athlete secured the title by winning the final medal race. Her compatriot, Olympic silver medalist Sharon Kantor, claimed the silver medal, making it a strong showing for Israel. Australian Stella Bilger took bronze, while another Israeli, Daniela Peleg, finished fourth.

Steinberg demonstrated consistent dominance throughout the competition, qualifying in first place after winning seven of her 16 races. She and Kantor, who qualified second, advanced directly to the final. According to the medal series rules, the top two qualifiers started the final with an advantage, needing only one more win to secure the championship. Steinberg achieved this by finishing first in the decisive race.

This marks Steinberg's first senior world championship title. She previously won a silver medal at last year's World Championships and the European Championship in spring 2026. She has also secured world titles in cadet, U19, and U23 categories. Kantor, the 2024 world champion and an Olympic silver medalist, finished the current event in second place.

This event marks another significant success for the Israeli team at the World Championships, with multiple medal wins in recent years. In 2023, Shahar Tibi and Katy Spichakov won gold and silver, respectively. In 2024, Kantor won gold and Spichakov took bronze. Daniela Peleg reached the final, progressing through the quarter-finals and semi-finals to the top four. Shahar Tibi finished the championship in tenth place, meaning three of the four finalists represented Israel.

In the men's competition, Dutch sailor Luuc van Opzeeland won gold, followed by Noah Lyons of the USA in silver and Johan Se of Denmark in bronze. Israeli Olympic champion Tom Reuveny finished fifth. Reuveny initially finished first in his semi-final but was forced into a re-race due to a judging error with false starts. He finished third in the re-race, failing to advance to the final. Yoav Omer was eliminated in the quarter-finals.