Tom Reuveny wins Israel’s first gold of Paris 2024 – 20 years after his coach was Olympic champion

Israel has been the subject of multiple protests at the Paris Games which has led to some hostility against the country’s athletes

Israel claimed their first gold medal of the Paris Olympics in Marseille on Saturday as Tom Reuveny won the men’s windsurfing just minutes after his team mate Sharon Kantor had clinched silver in the women’s final.
The country has been the subject of protests at these Games due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
French authorities launched an investigation after spectators at a football match between Israel and Paraguay unfurled a banner reading “GENOCIDE OLYMPICS” and performed “provocative gestures of an antisemitic nature,” Le Parisien reported. Some of the spectators reportedly carried Palestinian flags and booed the Israeli national anthem.
A Paris 2024 spokesperson said the organisation “condemns these acts in the strongest terms” and added the Olympics “are a time for harmony and tolerance.”
The judo competition has also witnessed controversy with Tajikistan’s Nurali Emomali and Morocco’s Abderrahmane Boushita reportedly refusing to shake hands with Israel’s Baruch Shmailov.
Meanwhile, Algeria’s Messaoud Redouane Dris failed to weigh in entirely before his competition against the Israeli, which some interpreted as a deliberate move to avoid competing against him. The head of Israel’s Olympic Committee, Yael Arad, called the situation a “disgrace” in an interview with Reuters.
In a statement, the International Judo Federation (IJF) said it would launch a “full review and investigation” of the Algerian’s failure to pass the weigh-in.
Three Israeli athletes have also received death threats, the Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
After a recall due to a false start, Reuveny, 24, won the men’s final before leaping off his iQFoil board into the Mediterranean. Britain’s Sam Sills failed to progress from the semis.
Earlier, Reuveny’s teammate Kantor finished second in the women’s final behind the Italian Marta Maggetti. Britain’s Emma Wilson was third. Reuveny -who performed an acrobatic leap after crossing the line – was greeted back on the beach alongside Kantor by ecstatic teammates and were handed Israeli flags to wave.
Reuveny, 24, took the gold in Marseille 20 years after his own coach, Gal Friedman, won it in Athens.