Israel's list of impressive achievements this year in sports was added last Sunday, when Tamar Steinberg won the World Junior Windsurfing Championship in the Olympic IQ foil model, held at Lake Sylvaplana in Switzerland.
Steinberg did this as the youngest participant, only 16 years old, a birthday she celebrated at the start of the championship.
When you look at her resume in recent times, winning the WORLD SAILING World Championship, and last year winning first place in the Cadet Model World Championship, this achievement did not surprise anyone.
"It was exciting and now I've started to digest it, it's really happy and fun," Steinberg told Israel Hayom, "It's a great feeling. I've been aiming for it all year. It was my goal, so I'm really happy that I was able to bring my abilities and live up to it."
And you did it as a young participant.
"I came here at a relatively young age, but I believe I have good experience abroad, and I came prepared and with good abilities."
How do you keep your top for a whole week of tough competition, and even more so in a world championship?
"I've been in this situation before, in competitions for younger ages, so I knew how to deal with it and I had a good competition. I took all the pressure to a positive place and managed to deal with it. We also work on the psychological side, which is one of the important elements. There was a medal cruise, which I reached After I secured a medal. It's an exciting and important cruise, but I knew what my abilities were, and that's something that helps me arrive calm."
Steinberg in action, photo: Engadinwind - Sailing Energy
You gained quite a few achievements at a young age, how do you make the transition to adulthood?
"I already trained at the beginning of the year for a few months with the senior team, and in October I plan to participate in the world championship. This will be my first senior competition, and I'm already looking forward to it."
There were many athletes who had a hard time as adults, what would you do differently?
"I know that the transition takes time, because in the end there are differences in levels, but I feel ready, physically and mentally. I don't expect to immediately reach the top of the world, but I am sure that I have the abilities to build it, and slowly reach these areas."
Is there an advantage in that it is a new Olympic model?
"I feel less like I experienced this advantage. When they transferred the model I was 14 years old, so I didn't have a smooth transition, but I can succeed and develop in it."
How does everything fit together, when the school year starts in just a moment?
"Last year, when I was in the 10th grade, I didn't come to school for four months, but the whole system at the Carmel Beach Community helped me and supported me in this matter. I'm starting the 11th grade and I don't intend to drop out.
I want to eventually get a high-quality matriculation certificate.
It's important to me, and I want to see how I combine it."
Daddy puppy.
Advisor, photo: Alan Shiver
Do you feel like you missed out on things in your childhood?
"I miss things, but for a competition like now I fly with a big team at my age and it's a crazy experience that I gain, so I have other experiences. I make connections with girls from other countries and I really enjoy it, and at the same time my friends from school support and encourage me."
In the boat they talk about the matter of the spirits. What are your strengths and weaknesses at sea?
"In general, I came to this competition after training in all conditions and I was dominant in all of them. The competitors in second and third place had an advantage in strong winds, but I was able to deal with it, and in the end I proved that it is possible to succeed like that."
How do you explain the decline in the last few years of the branch that brought Olympic medals in the past?
"I don't bother with that at all. I look at the youth and there we are very successful, there is good work. When I reach adulthood I would like to achieve achievements there, and I need to see how I do it in the best way."
It is impossible not to refer to the family attribution, the name obliges. Avich Gur coached the national team for years and brought achievements.
"I think that in recent years my name exists on its own. I train at a very high-quality club in Sdot Yam, together with coach Dan Arnon, where I work and improve. They built me there from a very young age and that's where I achieved all my achievements."
Do you get tips at home or does dad not interfere?
"He is very understanding of the whole sailing process, but he is the last to express a position and we both set a very clear boundary. His understanding means that my parents know that I need their support, especially with the long trips, but in the end the one who is with me in the water is the coach and at the end dad calls to say well done. I I'm sure he wants to intervene, but we keep it in a good place."
Do you think he should have been left in the system, with all his experience?
"It reassures me, especially now that I'm entering the senior team, that there is separation and that he is not the coach."
Is Paris 2024 realistic for you?
"I'm thinking about it, but right now it's not my first goal. I've been training all year to be successful in youth, and I know that the transition to seniors takes time and that's what I'm concentrating on right now. The Olympics are in the picture, but I want to see where my career develops."
A final word?
"I hope to continue enjoying myself. I feel good like this now and that I will succeed in the World Championship. I also want to thank my club Hapoel Sdot Yam and coach Dan Arnon for supporting me, helping me and getting me to where I have come."
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