The sports world continues to mourn the death of kayaker Barak Lufen, 35, who was killed in a shooting attack on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv.
The one who knew Lufen well and pushed him to the pinnacle of his career is the bronze medalist from the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Michael Kalganov.
The two competed together in 2006 in a double boat and achieved the bronze medal at the European Championships.
They did so at a distance of the non-Olympic 200 meters.
That same year the two finished in sixth place at the World Championships, which put them on the expanded Olympic squad and they came within touching distance of the ticket to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
"It's very difficult to hear that," says Kalganov, who lives in Germany today in an interview with Israel Today. "Until now, I do not believe that is what happened."
How did you hear about it?
"We were informed in the morning about his difficult situation and I understood from friends that the situation was not good, but recently phones started telling me that he had passed away and also sent me a link about the sad news."
What do you remember from the time you competed together?
"Barak was a special and quiet guy, very talented. I have only good words to say about him. We started rowing doubles first year and we had very good results and we were also very close to achieving the criteria for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but we decided to break up.
"He was a good friend of mine. Everyone loved his personality, there is not much like him. He was young and all roads were open to him. There are no words, it is hard and sad. It is just unbelievable."
He also had a lot to learn from you, from the vast experience
"Yes, he always asked and consulted. A quiet guy who always wanted to learn. He listened to me a lot. I heard that lately he was a coach in Tel Aviv and wanted to continue to pass on the knowledge, but now it's all over, it's a hard loss for everyone."
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