Israeli pride: Women's team wins gold and silver at Sailing World Championships

Israel’s women’s team won two medals at the Sailing World Championships in The Hague, Netherlands on Saturday.

Twenty-five-year-old Shahar Tibi won Israel’s first gold medal in the category iQFoil, the first Israeli windsurfing world title in a decade.

In the same event, 24-year-old Katy Spychakov won the silver medal.

"I can't describe how I feel right now," Tibi said immediately after her big win. "These have been two difficult years; I couldn’t be happier with what I have achieved now. It was a difficult day, a difficult week, very physical. I was very close last year, this is my first time on the podium at the World Championships and I am very excited now. I have no words."

"I want to dedicate this win to Lee Korzitz," Tibi continued. "It's been ten years since her fourth and last world title. I was there with her as a 15-year-old girl. Korzitz is now fighting for her life and she has provided me and many others with inspiration."

Israeli windsurfer Lee Korzitz won four world titles in 2003, 2011, 2012, and 2013. She later contracted Polycythemia vera, a rare type of blood cancer.

"It was a tough competition, with a lot of satisfaction, I am in second place for the third time, and this time it is sweet on the one hand, but also with a sour feeling,” Spychakov said, following her victory.

“The sweet thing is that I did it and achieved my goal for this competition. The downside is that this is the third time I have won a silver medal at the World Championships and of course, I feel that I want more,” she explained.