Wave of welcome in Millburn for Israel’s gold medalist

by Ron Kaplan
NJJN Staff Writer

Being the best at what you do means a lot of things. It means an Olympic gold medal around your neck. It means headlines around the world. And for Israel’s first Olympic gold medalist, it means a group of New Jersey teens crowding around for autographs.

That’s where Gal Fridman found himself on May 12, speaking to students at the Millburn Middle School about the life of an elite athlete.

Fridman won top honors in men’s windsurfing at the 2004 games in Athens. It was not, however, his first Olympic medal; he had won the bronze in Atlanta in 1996, thus giving him two of the total of six Israelis have earned over the years.

Before entering the gymnasium to speak with the students, Fridman spoke briefly with NJ Jewish News. Despite his status as a national hero, especially among young Israelis, Fridman downplayed his importance as an ambassador for windsurfing. “We’ll see in a few years if kids follow in my footsteps.” Asked which he found more challenging, speaking to groups like this or training on the choppy waters, he grinned and said “The water is not frightening.”

Fridman was accompanied on this visit by his cousin, Ohr Fridman, an 18-year-old student in Israel, and Guy BenShachar, executive shaliah (emissary) with the Legow Family Israel Program Center of the United Jewish Communities of MetroWest.

Gal Fridman came to the Millburn school at the request of Mary Vazquez, who teaches a course in Holocaust studies. About 100 eighth graders take the elective, which has been offered since 2001.

Josh Webman, 14, a member of Vazquez’s class, was chosen to interview Fridman based on questions submitted by his schoolmates before an audience of about 150 students.

The wide-ranging questions dealt mostly with Fridman’s exercise regimen, hobbies, and family life. He explained how he took up the sport as a seven-year-old under the tutelage of his father. He competes in about five windsurfing events annually in Europe, Australia, and South Africa, among other locales. At 29 (which must seem old to the teenagers), he hopes to represent Israel in at least the next two Olympiads.

Fridman said he spends five days a week or more keeping in shape and practicing his craft. He supplements his time on the board with biking for endurance and weight training for strength.

One of the more thoughtful questions asked if threats of terrorism altered his training. Fridman, who up to this point had responded with brief answers in quiet tones, answered adamantly that those problems occurred mostly along the border and were played up by the press. “What the media wants you to see, they show. It doesn’t indicate how real life is.”

When he’s not on the water, Fridman enjoys mountain biking. He recently rode from Tel Aviv to Eilat, a distance of about 250 miles, to raise money for the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv. He also works with the JDC on a regular basis, serving as a mentor to young people in crisis.

One of the students asked if Fridman had any advice for success. He thought for a moment before answering. “You need to commit,” he said. “You have to take it seriously and love what you’re doing.”

At the end of the program, Shayna Rose, 13, presented Fridman with a Millburn Middle School T-shirt. Webman, who attends Hebrew high school at Congregation B’nai Israel, expressed thanks on behalf of the school in Hebrew and English.

After signing autographs for his new admirers, Fridman left for his next appointment: as special guest at the Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration at the Alex Aidekman Family Jewish Community Campus in Whippany.

Ron Kaplan can be reached at RKaplan@njjewishnews.com.