Sailing: Gal and Kliger win bronze medal at worlds

Israeli duo finished in disappointing eighth position out of 10 teams competing in event's final race.

By ALLON SINAI
sailing 88 (photo credit: )
sailing 88
(photo credit: )
Udi Gal and Gidi Kliger further strengthened their position as one of Israel's best medal hopes at the Beijing Olympics after winning the bronze medal at the 470 Class World Championships in Melbourne for a third straight year on Wednesday. The Israeli duo, which entered Wednesday's medal race in second place, finished in a disappointing eighth position out of the 10 teams competing in the final race of the event. "We were ready for the race and we got off to an excellent start," Gal and Kliger said. "Once more, however, we have claimed the bronze medal. To be honest I'm not sure if I should be happy or sad. "This is a superb achievement, but on the other hand, we can do better and it's about time we win different color medals." Great Britain's Nic Asher and Elliot Willis claimed the gold medal, edging Portugal's Alvaro Marinho and Miguel Nunes, who finished in second position. "We felt very good during the race, but unfortunately our rivals took gambles which paid off and overtook us," Gal and Kliger said. "We're slightly disappointed because we expected and believed that we could win the gold medal. We're, however, looking forward and are confident in our abilities. We're expected to take a medal at Beijing and we believe in our ability to do so."