Udi Gal
Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - P.M. Olmert with Shahar Peer and Udi Gal.jpg
Gal in 2007
Personal information
NationalityIsraeli
Born (1979-06-11) June 11, 1979
Tel Aviv, Israel
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight161 lb (73 kg)
Sailing career
ClassMen's 470-Class Two-Person Dinghy
CoachIlan Tashtash
Medal record
Men's sailing
Representing  Israel
470 World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2006 RizhaoMen's 470
Bronze medal – third place2007 CascaisMen's 470
Bronze medal – third place2008 MordiallocMen's 470

Udi Gal (Hebrew: אודי גל; born June 11, 1979) is an Israeli Olympic sailor, who is a sailing world championship three-time bronze medalist.

Biography

Gal is Jewish, and was born in Tel Aviv, Israel.[1][2][3] He started sailing at 8 years of age, and started racing at 13 years of age.[4] He competes with the club Hapoel Tel Aviv.[2] He competed with partner Gideon Kliger in two-man competitions from the outset of his career, through 2009.[5][6]

The first event he won was the Youth Europeans 420, in 1996.[4] In 1998 he and Kliger won the European Youth Championships, and in 2001 they finished second in the European Championship in Ireland.[3]

In 2004 he was chosen as chair of the Israel Olympic Committee's athletes section.[7]

He and Kliger won bronze medals in the Sailing 470 World Championship for three straight years in Men's 470-Class Two-Person Dinghy — in 2006–08.[8] In June 2007, he came in third in the Men's 470 ISAF Sailing World Championships, in Cascais, Portugal.[4] In January 2008, he came in third in the Men 470 World Championships, in Melbourne, Australia.[4] In April 2008, he and Kliger were ranked third in the world in the 470 class dinghy.[9]

Gal and Kliger competed on behalf of Israel at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the Sailing at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, and on behalf of Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Sailing at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, in Men's 470-Class Two-Person Dinghy, coming in 15th and 14th, respectively.[2]

He coaches Israeli Olympians Eyal Levin and Dan Froyliche, who are competing on behalf of Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in the 470.[10]

Gal moved to the San Francisco/Bay Area to pursue a master's degree in Sports Psychology from John F. Kennedy University, and began coaching youth sailing at Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation (PYSF). In 2021, Gal left PYSF to start his own youth sailing program, High Performance Center (HPC)[11]

As a coach at the 2021 i420 world championships, he helped lead team USA to three gold medals.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Jews in the Olympics: 63 Athletes, 7 Countries". Jewishinstlouis.org. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 "Udi Gal Biography and Olympic Results". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Gal, Udi". Jewsinsports.org. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "ISAF: Sailor biog page". Sailing.org. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Udi Gal". Jewish Virtual Library. June 6, 1979. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Sailing / Gidi Kliger Finds a New Olympic Partner". Haaretz.
  7. ↑ Ben, Yair (December 17, 2004). "Gal to head Olympic athletes committee". Haaretz. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  8. ↑ "ISAF: Get To Know Udi Gal". Sailing.org. July 31, 2008. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  9. ↑ Navon, Emmanuel. "60 Sporting Heroes: No. 30 Udi Gal and Gidi Kliger". Jpost.com. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Sailor Biography".
  11. ↑ "Sailing | High Performance Center | Tiburon". HPCenter. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  12. ↑ "3 Gold Medals for USA and 1 for ESP at the 2021 420 World Championships". 2021 420 World Championships. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
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