Paris 2024 Olympics – Sailing – Men’s Windsurfing Final – Marseille Marina, Marseille, France – August 03, 2024. Tom Reuveny of Israel celebrates after winning gold. Photo: Reuters/Andrew Boyers

Israel’s Olympic delegation has made their country proud by winning three medals on Saturday in the 2024 Olympic Games, including one by Israeli windsurfer Tom Reuveny who clinched his home country’s first gold medal in Paris.

Reuveny, 24, secured Israel’s first ever Olympic gold medal in men’s windsurfing and fourth gold medal overall in the country’s Olympic history. Second place went to Australia’s Grae Morris and the bronze medal was given to Luuc van Opzeeland from the Netherlands.

“It feels pretty amazing. It hasn’t sunk yet,” Reuveny said after his historic win. “I need some time to understand what just happened today but I’m pretty happy of my performance this week and I’m super proud of myself.”

Standing on the podium to receive his gold medal, it was the first time that Israel’s national anthem “Hatikvah” was played at the Paris Olympics. The coach of the Israeli men’s windsurfing team is Olympic gold medalist Gal Fridman, who won Israel’s first gold medal 20 years ago at the Olympic Games in Athens.

Reuveny’s brother is currently serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as Israel wages its war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip who orchestrated the Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel. He said winning an Olympic gold means far more to him now amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. “My brother has been a combat soldier since the war began … it’s much bigger than me to win this event and it feels amazing,” he told Reuters.

“It was so hard to go training while everyone else was crying over lost people, dead people,” he added. “It’s been so hard and I still had to put my head down and keep training and its all for this moment.”

Two more Israeli athletes won Olympic medals on Saturday, including Sharon Kantor, 21, who took home a silver in women’s windsurfing, shortly before Reuveny’s race. Reuveny and Kantor were originally scheduled to compete in the finals on Friday, but their races were postponed due to the weather. Kantor came in second place to Marta Maggetti from Italy and the bronze medal was awarded to Emma Wilson from Great Britain.

“We are in a tough year and a tough position … in this situation to represent Israel is a big honor for everyone and we all understand our roles: to give a bit of joy,” said Eli Zuckerman, head coach of Israel’s Olympic sailing team, according to Reuters. “I’m very happy that we succeeded,” he added. “I think the athletes are also very happy and very proud to do it while our country is in such a complicated situation.”

Kantor took to Instagram to share some of the emotions she felt after her win on Saturday.

“I’m writing it with tears in my eyes,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “This campaign was a roller coaster for me. I feel like I am 12 years old and that maybe I do not understand what history was made yesterday, especially in this horrible moment in Israel. Thank you for every message, every hug, every smile. The fans that were on the shore alongside the love and support from Home gave me the best feeling to go into the water.” She concluded the post by writing in Hebrew “Am Israel Chai” (“Long Live Israel”).

Israel has previously won a total of three medals in windsurfing — all achieved by the coaches of this year’s team in the Paris Olympics. Kantor’s coach won a bronze at the Olympics in 2008.

Also on Saturday, Ukrainian-Israeli gymnast Artem Dolgopyat, 27, won a silver in artistic gymnastics in the men’s floor exercise. Dolgopyat, who won a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, became the first Israeli to win a medal in back-to-back Olympics when he took home the silver on Saturday by scoring 14.966 in his performance. The gold medal went to Filipino gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo, who had a score of 15.

Israel had a three-day winning streak in the Paris Olympics that began on Thursday, when Peter Paltchik won a bronze medal in men’s judo and Inbar Lanir won a silver in women’s judo. On Friday night, Israeli judoka Raz Hershko won silver after losing 1-0 to Brazil’s Beatriz Souza in the final match of the women’s over 78-kg category.

Israel has won 19 Olympic medals in its history, including six so far in this year’s Olympic Games, making it already Israel’s best performance in Olympic history.