Israeli Windsurfer Noa Koren Wins Bronze at Youth World Championship in Spain

Israeli windsurfer Noa Koren secured a bronze medal in the U17 category at the Youth World Windsurfing Championship held in Costa Brava, Spain, on July 10, 2026. Competing in the iQFOiL class, Koren, representing Haifa Sailing Club, finished third among 399 competitors from 36 countries. Throughout the competition, she demonstrated remarkable consistency, winning four of thirteen preliminary races and finishing in the top three in ten, which earned her a direct spot in the semifinals.

In the semifinals, Koren won her race and advanced to the final, where she faced top contenders from Turkey and Poland. The Turkish competitor won the final race, with Koren placing second in that race. However, due to the Polish sailor's accumulated points, the final medal standings awarded gold to Turkey, silver to Poland, and bronze to Koren. Koren, a Tel Aviv resident who commutes daily to Haifa for training under coach Omri Hatzor, expressed satisfaction with her year-round hard work paying off and looks forward to competing at the European Youth Championship in Greece in three months.

The Israeli team showed strong overall performance, with five sailors reaching the medal races across three of the four categories. Notably, in the U19 boys category, Itamar Levi finished seventh and Kfir Nov eighth, while in the U19 girls category, Alba Klein and Naama Platnik placed eighth and ninth respectively. Additionally, in the youngest U15 category, brothers Rafael and David Asraf achieved a rare Israeli one-two finish, taking first and second place.

Israel fielded a large delegation of 35 sailors, the second-largest after France, highlighting the country's growing prominence in youth windsurfing. The competition faced challenging conditions, including a heatwave with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius and unstable winds, leading to the cancellation of one racing day. The Israeli coaching team included Nir Bikel, Guy Ziv, Hovav Peleg, and head of delegation Omri Hatzor, who expressed pride in the team's achievements and the medal won at the world championship.