Israel’s Yoav Omer on Monday won gold in the boys’ RS:X race of the Youth Sailing World Championships, held in Auckland, New Zealand.

Omer secured a huge lead in the RS:X world title race in the first days of the contest, ultimately winning nine of the 13 races sailed.

The Israeli flag was up on the podium twice more in the contest as Ido Blik and Ofek Shalgi finished second in the 420 boys class race and Katy Spychakov took second in the RS:X girls class contest.

Israel’s sailors and windsurfers regularly win medals on the world stage. Olympians Gal Fridman and Shahar Tzuberi won three Olympic medals for their sailing capabilities.

Last year, Omer and fellow Israeli windsurfer Noy Drihan were prevented from defending their titles at the Youth Sailing World Championships because host Malaysia would not allow them to compete under the Israeli flag, wear symbols identifying their country on their uniforms or surfboards, and would not play the Israeli national anthem if either athlete won a medal.

[Photo: Courtesy ]