MARSEILLE, France, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Tom Reuveny and Sharon Kantor picked up a gold and a silver for Israel in men's and women's windsurfing (iQFoil) on Saturday, while Marta Maggetti wrapped up a memorable gold medal for Italy in the women's competition.
The Netherland's Luuc van Opzeeland and Britain's Sam Sills qualified for the semifinal race with fast finishes in the quarters. Van Opzeeland followed that up with another stellar showing in the semifinal, winning the race to qualify for the final. Reuveny was a close second, booking himself a spot in the grand finale.
The duo joined Australia's Grae Morris in the winner-take-all race. Reuveny had not won a race in the Opening Series, but saved his best for last by crossing the line ahead of the pack.
"I have so many emotions. I've put in so many years of hard work and I had the perfect medal race. I only had to win one race in this event and I won the most important one. I knew I had to get a good start as Luuc and Grae are super-fast," Reuveny said.
In women's windsurfing quarterfinal race, Peru's Maria Belen Bazo and China's Yan Zheng were the top two and progressed to the semifinal where they met Maggetti and Israel's Sharon Kantor.
The reigning world champion Kantor won the race and was closely followed by Maggetti, meaning the two progressed to the final to face off with Britain's Emma Wilson.
With the standings decided by the final race, Maggetti switched into gear and took the lead halfway through and did not relinquish her position, crossing the finish line ahead of the other two windsurfers. Kantor followed to take silver, while Wilson got the bronze.
"I'm so happy. I wasn't stressed today. After I finished the semifinal I cried a bit, but then I focused and told myself I wanted the gold. In the first lap I was close, but in third, I tacked for the mark before Emma and Sharon, so I did less distance on the race course. There was no public in Tokyo, no crowd, so the atmosphere here is different and it's so nice," Maggetti said.
