Tom Reuveny Israeli Olympic Windsurfing Champion Date of Birth: 12.06.2000 Country: Israel

1. Israeli Olympic Windsurfing Champion
2. Early Life
3. Windsurfing Career
4. Early Career
5. 2022–Present
6. 2024 Paris Olympics

Israeli Olympic Windsurfing Champion

Yoav Cohen is an Israeli Olympic windsurfer specializing in the RS:X and iQFoil classes. He has won gold medals at the 2017 RS:X World Youth Championships, 2019 RS:X Under 21 World Championships, and 2020 RS:X Under 21 World Championships. Representing Israel at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Reuveni won the gold medal in the men's iQFoil event.

Early Life

Reuveni was born in Ramat Gan, Israel, raised in Kibbutz Sdot Yam, and lives in Rosh HaAyin, Israel. He is Jewish and the son of Dr. Ronen Reuveni, an exercise physiologist, and Kate Reuveni (née Brown), a technical writer. His father is Israeli, and his mother is British and a convert to Judaism. He has an older sister, Eden, and two younger brothers, one of whom has been serving as a combat soldier in the Israel Defense Forces since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7. Reuveni's parents encouraged him in sports from an early age, and he played several sports as a child, including cycling, swimming, tennis, and surfing.

Windsurfing Career

Reuveni's coach is Gal Fridman, who won the gold medal in windsurfing at the 2004 Olympics.

Early Career

Reuveni started surfing at the age of eight. He began windsurfing at ten years old. He won a bronze medal at the 2016 RS:X World Junior Championships in Circolo Surf Torbole, Italy. He won the gold medal at the 2017 RS:X World Youth Championships. He won the gold medal at the 2019 RS:X Men's Under-21 World Championships in Torbole, Italy, and the gold medal at the 2020 RS:X Men's Under-21 World Championships in Sorrento, Victoria, Australia.

2022–Present

At the 2022 iQFoil World Championships, held in Brest, France, Reuveni finished fourth. In 2023, he won a bronze medal at the 2023 Sailing World Cup Series event, the Princess Sofia Trophy, in Palma, Spain.

At the 2024 iQFoil World Championships, held in Lanzarote, Spain, Reuveni placed eighth. Shortly after the event, the Executive Committee of the Israel Sailing Association selected Reuveni to represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics. The Israeli Olympic Committee did not consider Reuveni a medal contender. While training, he said, "There are still hostages in Gaza, and it was hard to train when the entire country is burning."

2024 Paris Olympics

Representing Israel at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Reuveni won the gold medal in the men's iQFoil class in Marseille, France. He said, "I did it for our brave soldiers."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog told him, "You sailed across the water's surface like something divine. You brought joy to an entire nation, a nation that fights, and a nation that prays for the return of those held captive... for the first time at these Olympics our anthem, Hatikvah, hope, was heard..."