Gal Fridman (Hebrew: גל פרידמן) (born 16 September 1975 in Karkur (near Hadera), Israel) is an Israeli windsurfer and an Olympic gold medalist. Fridman won a bronze medal at the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics and a gold medal at the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics. He is the only Israeli athlete to win two olympic medals, and the first gold medalist in Israeli history. Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by 6 million people mainly in Israel, parts of the Palestinian territories, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ... September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... Hadera (חדרה) is a city in the Haifa District in Israel. ... Windsurfing in Essex, England Windsurfing (also called boardsailing) is a sport involving travel over water on a small 2-4. ... The Olympic Games, or Olympics, is an international multi-sport event taking place every two years and alternating between Summer and Winter Games. ... The 1996 Summer Olympics, formally known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and informally known as the Centennial Olympics, were held in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. ... A gold medal will generally represent the highest award for achievement in a non-military field, with no restriction on eligibility. ... The Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, commonly known as the 2004 Summer Olympics were the 28th Summer Olympic Games. ... An athlete is a person possessing above average physical skills (strength, agility, and endurance) and thus seen suitable for physical activities, in particular, contests. ...

Interestingly, his first name, Gal, means "wave" in Hebrew.

Athletic achievements

The 1996 Summer Olympics, formally known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and informally known as the Centennial Olympics, were held in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. ... The Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, commonly known as the 2004 Summer Olympics were the 28th Summer Olympic Games. ...

Athens 2004

Gal Fridman was one of Israel's Olympic team favorites to a win a medal (along with Judoka Ariel Zeevi and athlete Alex Averbukh), and prepared for the Olympic games for two years prior to the event. The 2004 Summer Olympics are officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (the 28th Summer Olympic Games). ... Arik Zeevi is an Israeli judoka. ...

In Athens Fridman competed in Mistral windsurfer sailing, a discipline that included 11 races. Fridman's results were: Sailing at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at the Agios Kosmas Olympic Sailing Centre with eleven gold medals being contested. ...

(Note: the worst race score is omited)

On the last race on Wednesday, August 25, 2004, Fridman exploited a poor performance by Brazilian leader Ricardo Santos and a tactical mistake by Greek windsurfer Nikolaos Kaklamanakis in order to burst forward and finish the final race second, thus earning the gold medal overall. He achieved an overall total of 50 negative points, and a net total of 42 negative points. As this was the lowest negative score in the competition, Fridman earned first place and got the first gold medal ever won for Israel. August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nikolaos Kaklamanakis (Greek: Νίκος Κακλαμανάκης, August 19, 1968, born in Athens) is the Greek Gold-medal winner who lit the Olympic torch in the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. ...

Final positions:

1. Gal Fridman - Israel (gold medal)
2. Nikolaos Kaklamanakis - Greece (silver medal)
3. Nick Dempsey - Great Britain (bronze medal)
4. Ricardo Santos - Brazil
5. Przemyslaw Miarczynski - Poland

The President of Israel, Moshe Katsav, the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, and other senior Israeli officials and politicians called Fridman to congratulate him. A gold medal will generally represent the highest award for achievement in a non-military field, with no restriction on eligibility. ... Nikolaos Kaklamanakis (Greek: Νίκος Κακλαμανάκης, August 19, 1968, born in Athens) is the Greek Gold-medal winner who lit the Olympic torch in the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. ... A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests (typically athletics competitions) such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. ... A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests (typically athletics competitions) such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. ... President of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel, but has a largely ceremonial, figurehead role with real power lying in the hands of the Prime Minister of Israel. ... Moshe Katsav (Courtesy: Israeli Knesset) Moshe Katsav (Hebrew מֹשֶׁה קַצָּב Mōšeh Qaṣṣāḇ), born December 5, 1945) is the current President of Israel (since 2000). ... Ariel Sharon, the eleventh Prime Minister of Israel, spent many years in the Israel Defense Forces before being elected in March 2001. ...

External links

• Pictures from the winning moment
• Fridman's winning race (Hebrew)
• "The Silent Wave" - the Olympic story of Gal Fridman (Hebrew)