Intense day for Israelis at Euro Windsurfing Championships

Lee Korzits crashes at sea, Shahar Zubari strides towards second gold.

By ALLON SINAI
kimama windsurf 248 (photo credit: Courtesy)
kimama windsurf 248
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Shahar Zubari took another significant step towards claiming a second straight gold medal at the European Windsurfing Championships in Sopot, Poland on Thursday, while there was a serious scare for another of Israel’s representatives after Lee Korzits had to be helped out of the water following a crash at sea.
The 23-year-old Zubari, who took European gold in Tel Aviv last summer, strengthened his position at the top of the standings ahead of the final medal race on Friday after finishing Thursday’s races in second and fourth place, respectively.
Zubari leads Poland’s Piotr Myszka by eight points, with Greece’s Byron Kokkalanis a further five points back.
A top-four finish in the medal race will guarantee Zubari another gold, while even a lower placing on Friday may prove to be enough depending on the results of his opponents.
Israel’s Nimrod Mashiah, who claimed a silver medal at last year’s World Championships, will also be among the 10 surfers to compete in the medal race, but he has no chance of finishing on the podium as he will be entering the final day of competition from 10th position.
Korzits, the 2003 windsurfing world champion, was well placed to book her place in the medal race before a crash in the first of Thursday’s races ruined any such hopes.
The 26-year-old hit one of her opponents while trying to overtake and smacked her head before falling into the water. A French coach who witnessed the incident came to her rescue and pulled the shaken surfer from under her sail.
Korzits was taken back to shore where she quickly recovered.
Korzits dropped to 17th place in the standings after failing to register a result in both of Thursday’s races.
Israel’s highest ranked woman in the competition is Ma’ayan Davidovich, who is currently in 16th position.


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