Tamar Steinberg from Israel and Kun Bi from China secured the gold medals in the men's and women's iQFOiL competitions as part of the Olympic Week (Semaine Olympique). In light wind conditions, which demanded everything from the athletes, the two prevailed in exciting final races. Steinberg thus crowned the strong performance of the Israeli women's team, which achieved a total of five places in the top 7.
Tamar Steinberg delivered an impressive performance in the women's race. After a difficult first final run, in which she fell off the foil due to exhaustion, the Israeli showed all her class in the decisive second race. With a strong start, she took the lead and defended her lead to the finish. "We had light winds today, so it was very physically demanding. You have to pump a lot in these conditions, which really shows the level of the fleet and pushes us to get better," explained Steinberg after her victory. Sophia Meyer, the only German in the field, came 27th, Theresa Steinlein was not at the start.
Chinese success in the men's competition
In the men's competition, Kun Bi from China made the most of the light wind conditions. The Chinese rider put in an impressive performance and won both final races. Bi showed patience and tactical skill, especially in the second race, when he only took the lead halfway through the race. "It was very exhausting! The pressure from all the top athletes competing together is enormous," said Bi after his triumph.
Grae Morris, who had dominated the iQFOiL races so far this year, finished in second place ahead of Frenchman Louis Pignolet. Jakob Ditzen, the only German starter, finished in 67th place.
In addition to the individual successes, there were also remarkable team performances. The Israeli women's team dominated with five placings in the top 7, underlining the strength of their national training group. The Chinese team was also able to impress in the men's competition. Kun Bi emphasised the importance of teamwork: "Whether it's iQFoil or kite, we have a whole team working together. We've had some great weeks, there are a lot of us and the whole team works together."
Results iQFOiL Semaine Olympique Francaise
Ladies
- Tamar Steinberg
- Zheng Yang
- Sharon Kantor
Gents
- Kun Bi
- Grae Morris
- Louis Pignolet
