3 questions to Sharon Kantor

25/07/2023

Israel's Sharon Kantor has just won the Test Event in Marseille, confirming the positive impression she made at the iQFOil European Championships in Greece last May. Talking to Windsurfjournal.com, she reflects on her victory, 1 year before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games...

Windsurfjournal.com: Could you introduce yourself to those who don't know you?
Sharon Kantor: My name is Sharon Kantor, I'm from Israel and I'm 20 years old. I'm a member of the Israeli Olympic windsurfing team. I started windsurfing at the age of 10 at the Michmoret Sailing Club and haven't stopped since. Throughout the years until now, the most important thing for me has been to enjoy what I'm doing and I think that helped me a lot in the beginning of my racing career. I flew to an international competition for the first time when I was 13 and won a bronze medal in the under-15 category. That was when I realised that the sky was the limit for me. I had a really good junior period, winning the European Under-17 Bic Techno Championship and a bronze medal at the World Championships the same year. When I was 18, I switched to the senior age group and at that time the Olympic RS:X model was replaced by the new iQFOil class. I took the chance and trained a lot with the iQFOil. It took some time, but at the beginning of 2023 I won my first medal in an international senior competition, third place at the International Games in Lanzarote. After that, I finished second in the European Championships last May. A week ago I won the Olympic Test Event and it felt great.

WJ: How did you experience the Test Event in Marseille and in particular your victory in the Marathon, which set the tone for the rest of the week?
SK: I arrived a week before the competition. Usually I'm part of a big team of 6 girls. It was a different experience from what I am used to. I started the competition and the conditions were so interesting. The wind was gusty and tricky, sometimes wavy and every day was different. We did 19 races in five days and one of the races was a long Marathon that lasted 80 minutes! The longest one I did. I had a good race, felt comfortable with the sea and was in my zone. I finished first with a big gap to the others and I was super happy. I came into the medal race in first place, which means I'm sure of a medal. Then I have to do the grand final and whoever wins that race wins the championship. I worked really hard in this race and finished first.

WJ: What did you learn from this test event and doesn't this victory also mean pressure for the future?
SK: I have learnt how strong I am in my mind and understood that anything can happen and anything is possible. I won this competition and I am super happy about it, but we have the World Championships next month and I have to focus on that as well, so there is no time to celebrate. I don't usually put myself under pressure, I feel strong and I know I can do it again.