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

Israeli windsurfer Noa Koren secured a bronze medal at the Youth World Championship in the iQFOiL class, held in Costa Brava, Spain, on July 10, 2026. Competing in the under-17 category, Koren finished third among 399 participants from 36 countries. Representing the Haifa Sailing Club, she demonstrated remarkable consistency throughout the competition, winning four of thirteen preliminary races and placing in the top three in ten, which earned her direct entry to the semifinals.

In the semifinals, Koren won her race and advanced to the final, where she faced top competitors from Turkey and Poland. Despite finishing second in the final race behind the Turkish competitor, the overall points gave gold to Turkey, silver to Poland, and bronze to Koren. Koren, a Tel Aviv resident who commutes daily to Haifa for training with coach Omri Hatzor, expressed satisfaction with her performance and hopes to improve her standing at the upcoming European Championship in Greece.

The Israeli team showed strong overall results, with five sailors reaching the medal races across three of the four categories. In the boys' under-19 category, Itamar Levi and Kfir Nov placed seventh and eighth respectively, while Alba Klein and Naama Platnik finished eighth and ninth in the girls' under-19 category. Notably, brothers Rafael and David Asraf from Eilat took first and second place in the under-15 category, marking a double Israeli podium.

Israel fielded a large team of 35 sailors, the second-largest delegation after France, and competed under challenging conditions with heat exceeding 35 degrees Celsius and unstable winds. The Israeli coaching staff included Nir Bikel, Guy Ziv, Hovav Peleg, and head of delegation Omri Hatzor. Hatzor expressed pride in the team's achievements and satisfaction with bringing home a medal from the Youth World Championship.