‘This medal was bigger than me’
“Once I finished the competition, I realized that this medal was bigger than me,” Tom Reuveny, who won the men’s windsurfing competition at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, told JNS on Monday.
“I realized how important it was for Israel as a nation and the Jewish people around the world to win gold at the Olympics. It made everyone proud,” he added.
Israel secured a record haul of seven medals in Paris, including five silvers and one bronze.
Reuveny is the fourth Israeli ever to win gold at the Olympics. In 2004, Gal Fridman also won the windsurfing event at the Athens Summer Games, while Artem Dolgopyat and Linoy Ashram both placed first in gymnastics at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Reuveny inherited his passion from his father, an amateur windsurfer, and began actively pursuing the sport at the age of eight.
“I begged my father to send me to summer camp. He signed me up and I learned the basics of the sport. Then, he bought me a board,” Reuveny recounted.
“We were living in Ireland at the time. It was quite cold and not ideal for a kid to go windsurfing with a wetsuit, hood and gloves, but I really fell in love with it,” he continued.
At 10, Reuveny’s family returned to Israel and he signed up for his hometown club, Bnei Herzliya.
MARSEILLE, FRANCE – JULY 30: Tom Reuveny of Team Israel competes in the Men’s Windsurf iQFoil class on day four of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Marseille Marina on July 30, 2024 in Marseille, France. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
While the Israeli national windsurfing team usually trains in Kibbutz Sdot Yam, this year Reuveny completed four training sessions abroad ahead of the Olympics, including in Palma de Mallorca, Hyères and Marseille. The Olympic races took place in the latter French coastal city.
“It’s every athlete’s dream, especially during these hard times,” said Reuveny of his win in Paris. “Being the only Israeli to have ‘Hatikva’ played for them, it was just amazing,” he added.
“Many people came to watch. Windsurfing is not a sport that gets a lot of attention all the time, but when I won the medal there were lots of people flying the Israeli flag.”
Not everyone was cheering him on, however. Reuveny revealed that he was subjected to online hate during the Olympics, including death threats, which he said only further motivated him.
“I got a lot of antisemitic comments on Instagram and Facebook. I wanted to show how strong the Jewish nation is, that we are made of steel and that no one can break us,” he said.
“When I got death threats, it just made me want to win more to annoy the haters,” he added.
Reuveny was selected as Israel’s flag bearer at the closing ceremony on Aug. 11, which was attended by 85,000 people.
“The euphoric feeling was pretty amazing,” Reuveny said. “I didn’t feel any hate at the ceremony, although at one point I asked a Jordanian athlete to swap pins with me and my offer was rejected in a rude manner.”
“I was interested to see their reaction,” he continued. “The Olympic spirit is to put politics aside and focus on sports and excellence. I think Israel as a nation always comes with its hands out for peace and we always get rejected by other countries.”
Silver medalist Grae Morris of Team Australia, Gold medalist Tom Reuveny of Team Israel and Bronze medalist Luuc Opzeeland of Team Netherlands celebrate at the medal ceremony for the Men’s Windsurf iQFoil class final at the medal ceremony on day eight of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Marseille Marina on Aug. 3, 2024 in Marseille, France. Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images.
Reuveny’s medal comes with a hefty cash prize of 1 million shekels (approx. US$270,000), which he plans on using wisely.
“I’ve been worrying throughout the years about what I would do once I stop windsurfing. Now that I have this money, I can maybe buy myself an apartment so that I have a bit of a safety net to fall on if things go wrong,” he said. “I am not planning on using it to buy new flashy stuff but rather to invest it in my future.”
Upon his return to Israel, Reuveny was invited to visit the Hostage and Missing Families Forum in Tel Aviv.
“I was very moved, they’ve suffered quite a lot in the last 10 months,” he said. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to know that your loved one is being held hostage in Gaza. It’s something no one should ever go through,” he added.
“If I could do anything to help bring them back or help these people feel some comfort or happiness, I’d do it without blinking,” he added.
Reuveny is currently taking a break, after which he will slowly resume training. His next big goal is to become World Champion at the competition next July. Farther along, he envisions taking part in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
“I really want to prove myself again on the biggest stage in the world and show that this wasn’t a one-hit wonder,” he said. “My message to everyone is follow your dreams and do what you think is right. I came to the Olympics without any medals at big international events and I won gold,” he added.
“I defeated the odds and showed everyone that anything is possible. We just need to put our mind to it. It takes years of belief and hard work, but eventually it will come.”
