March 6, 2013

An amazing achievement for Israeli windsurfer Lee Korzits as she secured victory at the 2013 RS:X World Championship in Brazil even before the final races were held. This was Korzits’ third consecutive win and her fourth gold overall.

The Israeli athlete who had been expected to win a medal at the London Olympics but finished sixth at the 2012 Games, showed fantastic form at the World Championship coming in first in four heats and opening a 21-point gap over the second-place contender – another Israeli, Maayan Davidovitch.

Korzits was declared champion even before the final races as it is impossible to overtake her in points.

“This championship is the sweetest of them all,” Korzits wrote on her Facebook wall. “I have so much love and that beats everything. I truly feel that I’m champion of the world. I triumphed over my own mental blocks and have proven I can win with or without wind.”

Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat called Korzits’ win aptly symbolic ahead of International Women’s Day. “This is the ultimate gift for women’s sport in Israel on International Women’s Day,” said Livnat. “I believe that Lee Korzits is one of the country’s greatest athletes and that she can influence young girls and women to take part in the field of sport in Israel.”

All eyes are on Davidovitch now, who bumped the UK’s Bryony Shaw to third place. Good surfing today will give Davidovitch a silver medal.

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