Tom Reuveny, an Israeli windsurfer who won gold on Saturday in men's windsurfing, said that his win was more important than Olympic glory due to the conflict in Gaza.

Reuveny said after he came ashore, "My brother is a combat veteran since the beginning of this war... winning this event feels much more amazing than I do."

Reuveny won gold in windsurfing after his 21-year-old teammate Sharon Kantor took silver. The pair brought Israel its best Olympic sailing results.

Eli Zuckerman is the head coach for Israel's Olympic sailing squad. He said: "We have a difficult year, and we are all in a very tough situation. To represent Israel in such a position is an honour and everyone understands their roles. We must give some joy."

He said: "I am very pleased that we achieved our goal. I think the athletes were also happy to have done it, and proud of themselves for doing so while our nation is facing such an uncertain situation."

Reuveny said that he had felt the support of all Israel in the lead up to the Games. This helped him get through. He expressed his gratitude to everyone who sent him messages of encouragement.

It was hard for me to train while others were crying about lost or dead people. The sailor, who was visibly upset at the time said: "It's been hard but I had to keep my head down in order to train and it all came together for this moment."

The sailing coach of Israel said that the sailing team felt an underlying sense of purpose due to the high expectations placed on it. They will be represented at seven out of ten sailing events during the 2024 Olympics.

Zuckerman stated that "it's not just (that we) go surfing or sailing. We are representing Israel, and we will do everything we can to achieve the highest honour."

Many people told me: "We'll be seeing you on TV in Tel Aviv and we're happy. It's incredible, it is amazing." You cannot train if we do not take it into this context. He added.

The head coach added: "On the other hand, I'd be happy if this was not needed and we could just live like other countries."

Zuckerman stated that Israel won three medals for windsurfing in Marseille, which were all achieved by coaches of its sailors. Reuveny’s coach was the first to win Israel’s gold medal in Athens, 2004. Kantor’s won bronze in 2008 Reporting by Alexander Smith, Editing by Alison Williams

(source: Reuters)