Tom Reuveny (; born 12 June 2000) is an Israeli Olympic champion

windsurfer Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

, who specializes in the RS:X and

iQFoil iQFoil is a windsurfing class selected by World Sailing to replace the RS:X for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The discipline has similarities to Formula Windsurfing, however a notable difference is that sailors only use one sail. The sail size was o ...

classes. He won gold medals at the 2017 RS:X Youth World Championships, the 2019 RS:X World Championships Men's U21, and the 2020 RS:X World Championships Men's U21. Representing Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Reuveny won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the Men's iQFoil.

Early life

Reuveny was born in

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

, Israel, lived in Kibbutz

Sdot Yam Sdot Yam (, ''lit.'' Sea Fields) is a kibbutz in the Haifa District of Israel. Located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. In it had a population of . It was founded in 1936 ...

, and lives in

Rosh HaAyin Rosh HaAyin (; ) is a city in the Central District of Israel. It is located in the eastern ravine of the Sharon River, opposite the Samaria Mountains. The city is named after its location at the source of the Yarkon River (“Ras” meaning sou ...

, Israel, and is Jewish. He is the son of Dr. Ronen Reuveny, an

exercise physiologist Exercise physiology is the physiology of physical exercise. It is one of the allied health professions, and involves the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to exercise. Exercise physiologists are the highest qualified exercise ...

, and Kate Reuveny (née Brown), a

technical writer A technical writer is a professional communicator whose task is to convey complex information in simple terms to an audience of the general public or a very select group of readers. Technical writers research and create information through a vari ...

.""ראיון השבוע" עם גולש הרוח תום ראובני"ראיון השבוע" עם גולש הרוח תום ראובני"
olympicsil-co-il. His father was born in Israel, while his mother is originally

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and a Jewish convert. He has an older sister, Eden, and two younger brothers, including one who has been serving as a combat soldier in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

since the

7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...

. Reuveny's parents encouraged him to take up sports from a young age, and as a child he trained in several different sports, including cycling, swimming, tennis, and surfing.

Windsurfing career

Reuveny's coach is

Gal Fridman Gal Fridman (or Friedman, ; born September 16, 1975) is an Israeli windsurfer and Israel's first Olympic gold medalist. Fridman won a bronze medal in the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics, and a gold medal in the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics. He is ...

, who won the gold medal in windsurfing at the 2004 Olympic Games.

Early years

Reuveny starting surfing at eight years of age. At ten years of age, he began windsurfing. He won a bronze medal at the 2016 RS:X Youth World Championships in Circolo Surf Torbole, Italy."Tom Reuveny wins windsurfing final, picking up Israel’s first gold at 2024 Olympics,"
''The Times of Israel'', August 3, 2024. He won the gold medal at the 2017 RS:X Youth World Championships. He won the gold medal at the 2019 RS:X World Championships Men's U21 in Torbole, Italy, and the gold medal in the 2020 RS:X World Championships Men's U21 in

Sorrento Sorrento ( , ; ; ) is a City status in Italy, city and overlooking the Gulf of Naples, Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the southern terminus of a main branch o ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Australia.

2022–present

At the 2022

iQFoil World Championships The iQFoil World Championships is an international sailing competition organized by the World Sailing, International Sailing Federation, held since 2021. Seniors Men Women Under 21 Men Women References

{{Authority control Windsu ...

held in

Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port, port city in the Finistère department, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of a peninsula and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an impor ...

, Reuveny finished in fourth place. In 2023, he won a bronze medal in a competition as part of the 2023

Sailing World Cup The Sailing Grand Slam, formerly World Sailing's Sailing World Cup, is a series of sailing (sport), sailing regattas. The World Cup came into existence during the 2008–09 Season. The series includes boats that have competed in the Olympic Games, ...

, the Princess Cup, in Palma, Spain. In the 2024 iQFoil World Championships held in

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands, off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago. With 163,230 inhabi ...

, Spain, Reuveny finished in eighth place. Shortly after the competition, the Executive Committee of the Israel Sailing Association selected Reuveny to represent Israel at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. Reuveny was not considered a medal contender by the

Israel Olympic Committee The Olympic Committee of Israel (, ) is the recognized National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Israel, and the governing body of Olympic sports in Israel. The OCI's headquarters is located at the National Sport Center – Tel Aviv. History In 1 ...

. During training, he said: "There are still hostages in Gaza and it was difficult training when the whole country is burning."

2024 Paris Olympics

Reuveny, representing Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics, won the

in Men's iQFoil class in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, France. He said: "I did it for our brave soldiers.""Israel breaks record with six Olympic medals,"
JNS, August 4, 2024. Israeli President

Isaac Herzog Isaac "Bougie" Herzog (; born 22 September 1960) is an Israeli politician who has been serving since 2021 as the president of Israel. He is the first president to have been born in Israel after its Declaration of Independence. Son of former Is ...

said to him:

You floated on the surface of the water like something divine. You made a whole nation happy, a nation that is at war and a nation that prays for the return of those being held hostage.... our anthem was played, '' Hatikva'', hope, for the first time in these Olympics....Joshua Halickman (August 4, 2024
"Golden Tom Reuveny shocks the nation; You brought us a great light. our anthem was played, Hatikva, hope, for the first time in these Olympics in France, President Isaac Herzog told Tom Reuveny,"
''The Jerusalem Post''.

References

External links

* *
"Gold Medallist Tom Reuveny on representing Israel at the Olympics while his country is at war,"
AJAC, August 17, 2024. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reuveny, Tom 2000 births Living people Jewish Israeli sportspeople Israeli male sailors (sport) Jewish sailors (sport) Kibbutzniks Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Israel Olympic sailors for Israel People from Rosh HaAyin Sailors at the 2024 Summer Olympics – iQFoil Sportspeople from Central District (Israel) Sportspeople from Haifa District Sportspeople from Ramat Gan 21st-century Israeli sportsmen