Last update - 00:00 18/07/2007
Sailing / Setting their sights on Beijing
By Rami Hipsh
A year and a half ago, Udi Gal began to write reports at the end of each day of sailing, and sent summaries to a variety of recipients. A week and a half ago, after Gal and Gidi Kliger had a poor day in the 470 class event at the Sailing World Championships, the message was gloomy: "Unfortunately, I do not have good news from today," he wrote. "We screwed up big time. There is nothing we can do except do better and try to reach the final."
On that day, they had broken the line in their first race and were disqualified for an early start in the second race, falling to 46th in the overall standings. At that point they had hoped to finish in the top 37, but from that day forward they continued to move up, and finally on the last day they were able to secure the bronze medal by one point over Portuguese duo Alvaro Marinho and Nunes Miguel. Gal's message was much more positive. "We have come out strengthened from this week," he wrote. "Now we know and feel that we are part of the world's elite."
Their second consecutive bronze medal at the world championships have turned Gal and Kliger into the two biggest medal contenders from the Israeli delegation to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Three years ago, they arrived at the Athens Games as medal candidates and only finished in the middle of the second group of 10. However, they are now maintaining their poise and are exhibiting mental ability and maturity, character traits they did not have then.
"We have changed our grasp and in our mental approach," says Kliger. "At that time [2004], we operated like robots. We would go to the sea and do what we were asked to do, like athletes are supposed to do, and no more. After the Olympics we began to train alone, with different coaches, and we mixed in emotions. We are no longer part of the national team, we are a team that works alone."
Alone? Not exactly. The two are members of the Diamond Staff and benefit from massive aid, including a coach, professional manager, a trainer from the Elite Sports Unit, a doctor and physiotherapist. Nonetheless, when they set out to sail, they are in the boat by themselves.
Gal decided at a certain point that he needed to find a new way to express himself, and began to sum up for himself his experiences on a daily basis.
"It's like Chinese for many people, but it helps me a lot," he says. "I summarize everything. It comes from the philosophy that you have to write about three bad things and three good things that have happened to you. That is how I gather strength from the positive things and be careful of the problematic things in the next race, remembering that this is where there was a problem. The truth is, it is weird. I barely did my lessons in my 12 years of school, and now I write things at a college level every day."
For most of the world championships, Gal and Kliger were chasing Eyal Levin and Yam Amir, who began the tournament strong and were thought to have a chance at a medal until the day before the final races.
"They surprised us a lot," says Kliger. "We knew that Eyal and Yam perform well in strong winds, but they really showed skill and maturity. Their lack of experience overpowered them at the end, and they dropped 15 places. We were sorry that that they did not meet the criteria [for the 2008 Olympics] and did not finish in the top 10, which would have at least meant financial aid for them."
The issue of money is an important one. Gal is always looking for sponsors, and two months ago he succeeded in signing with an investment firm for a two-year sponsorship.
"Sponsors are important for Olympic athletes, but not because you cannot profit from sports," says Gal. "We are associated with the Diamond Staff and enjoy full support. It is for the day after, because you give up studies for the duration of your career. So you sail for six years, retire and then scratch your head and think, 'OK, what now?' "
But who wants to think about retirement a year before Beijing?
"We are not going there just to compete," says Kliger. "Three years ago, we were not solid and we only managed to touch the medals. Now we will arrive as elite sailors who are expected to win a medal."
"People have high expectations for us, but the highest expectations are the ones we have for ourselves," says Gal. "That was why it was a little difficult for us to relate to the bronze medal. It is true that we did something amazing at the world championships, but if we would have brought home the gold, that would have been historic for us."
As for exhibiting maturity, the two are already leaving next weekend for Qingdao, China, the Olympic venue next year, in order to train with teams from Japan and France ahead of a Paralympic competition. They will have to miss ceremonies planned in their honor.
"We are a little upset that we won't be able to meet the president and prime minister, who called us [on Sunday]," says Gal, "but in my eyes it is a reflection of how serious we are. There was a time when we went looking for those type of events, but now we want to work in order to succeed."