{{short description|Israeli sailor}} {{Infobox sailor | name = Udi Gal<br>אודי גל | image = {{CSS image crop | Image = Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - P.M. Olmert with Shahar Peer and Udi Gal.jpg | Location = center | bSize = 800 | cWidth = 220 | cHeight = 240 }} | caption = Gal in 2007 | full_name = | nickname = | nationality = Israeli | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1979|6|11}} | birth_place = Tel Aviv, Israel | death_date = | death_place = | height = 6 ft 2 in | weight = 161 lb | classes = Men's 470-Class Two-Person Dinghy | club = | collegeteam = | coach = Ilan Tashtash | show-medals = yes | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Men's sailing}} {{MedalCountry|{{ISR}}}} {{MedalCompetition|470 World Championships}} {{MedalBronze|2006 Rizhao|Men's 470}} {{MedalBronze|2007 Cascais|Men's 470}} {{MedalBronze|2008 Mordialloc|Men's 470}} }}
'''Udi Gal''' ({{langx|he|אודי גל}}; born June 11, 1979) is an Israeli Olympic sailor, who is a sailing world championship three-time bronze medalist.
==Biography== Gal is Jewish, and was born in Tel Aviv, Israel.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jewishinstlouis.org/page.aspx?id=181152 |title=Jews in the Olympics: 63 Athletes, 7 Countries |publisher=Jewishinstlouis.org |access-date=November 13, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407023958/http://www.jewishinstlouis.org/page.aspx?id=181152 |archive-date=April 7, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="sports-reference1">{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ga/udi-gal-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418094304/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ga/udi-gal-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 18, 2020 |title=Udi Gal Biography and Olympic Results |publisher=Sports-reference.com |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref><ref name="jewsinsports1">{{cite web |url=http://www.jewsinsports.org/olympics.asp?ID=689 |title=Gal, Udi |publisher=Jewsinsports.org |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref> He started sailing at 8 years of age, and started racing at 13 years of age.<ref name="sailing1">{{cite web |url=http://www.sailing.org/biog.php?id=ISRUG1 |title=ISAF: Sailor biog page |publisher=Sailing.org |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref> He competes with the club Hapoel Tel Aviv.<ref name="sports-reference1"/> He competed with partner Gideon Kliger in two-man competitions from the outset of his career, through 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Gal.html |title=Udi Gal |publisher=Jewish Virtual Library |date=June 6, 1979 |access-date=February 6, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/sports/sailing-gidi-kliger-finds-a-new-olympic-partner-1.3074 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207181511/http://www.haaretz.com/sailing-gidi-kliger-finds-a-new-olympic-partner-1.3074 | url-status=dead | archive-date=February 7, 2016 | title=Sailing / Gidi Kliger Finds a New Olympic Partner | newspaper=Haaretz }}</ref>
The first event he won was the Youth Europeans 420, in 1996.<ref name="sailing1"/> In 1998 he and Kliger won the European Youth Championships, and in 2001 they finished second in the European Championship in Ireland.<ref name="jewsinsports1"/>
In 2004 he was chosen as chair of the Israel Olympic Committee's athletes section.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ben |first=Yair |url=https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/sports/gal-to-head-olympic-athletes-committee-1.144195 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403024216/http://www.haaretz.com/gal-to-head-olympic-athletes-committee-1.144195 |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 3, 2016 |title=Gal to head Olympic athletes committee |publisher=Haaretz |date=December 17, 2004 |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref>
He and Kliger won bronze medals in the Sailing 470 World Championship for three straight years in Men's 470-Class Two-Person Dinghy — in 2006–08.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sailing.org/news/24593.php |title=ISAF: Get To Know Udi Gal |publisher=Sailing.org |date=July 31, 2008 |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref> In June 2007, he came in third in the Men's 470 ISAF Sailing World Championships, in Cascais, Portugal.<ref name="sailing1"/> In January 2008, he came in third in the Men 470 World Championships, in Melbourne, Australia.<ref name="sailing1"/> In April 2008, he and Kliger were ranked third in the world in the 470 class dinghy.<ref>{{cite web |last=Navon |first=Emmanuel |url=https://www.jpost.com/Sports/Article.aspx?id=97145 |title=60 Sporting Heroes: No. 30 Udi Gal and Gidi Kliger |publisher=Jpost.com |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref>
Gal and Kliger competed on behalf of Israel at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the Sailing at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, and on behalf of Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Sailing at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, in Men's 470-Class Two-Person Dinghy, coming in 15th and 14th, respectively.<ref name="sports-reference1"/>
He coaches Israeli Olympians Eyal Levin and Dan Froyliche, who are competing on behalf of Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in the 470.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://members.sailing.org/biog.php?unique=1471069340.4292&ID=ISREL1&js=1|title = Sailor Biography}}</ref>
Gal moved to the San Francisco/Bay Area to pursue a master's degree in Sports Psychology from John F. Kennedy University, and began coaching youth sailing at Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation (PYSF). In 2021, Gal left PYSF to start his own youth sailing program, High Performance Center (HPC)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sailing {{!}} High Performance Center {{!}} Tiburon |url=https://www.hpcenter.us/ |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=HPCenter |language=en}}</ref>
As a coach at the 2021 i420 world championships, he helped lead team USA to three gold medals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=3 Gold Medals for USA and 1 for ESP at the 2021 420 World Championships |url=http://2021worlds.420sailing.org/en/default/races/race-newsitem/text/3-gold-medals-for-usa-and-1-for-esp-at-the-2021-420-world-championships-en-2-en-2-en/textnews/3-gold-medals-for-usa-and-1-for-esp-at-the-2021-420-world-championships-en-2-en-2-en |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=2021 420 World Championships |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== *List of European Championships medalists in sailing
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{sports links}} * {{Facebook}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gal, Udi}} Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:Israeli male sailors (sport) Category:Olympic sailors for Israel Category:Sailors at the 2004 Summer Olympics – 470 Category:Sailors at the 2008 Summer Olympics – 470 Category:Jewish Israeli sportspeople Category:Reichman University alumni Category:Sportspeople from Tel Aviv