By Gao Lu

    JERUSALEM, Aug. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- "It's very, very hard to believe that he succeeded in doing this." Gal Friedman's father, Uri, almost burst into tears when he heard that his son took the gold medal for the windsurfing event in Athens on Wednesday.

    Friedman won Israel's first ever gold at the Olympics by scoring 42 points. The silver went to Nikos Kaklamanakis of Greece, who finished with 52 points and Brazil's Ricardo Santos won bronze with 53 points.

    Friedman is the first Israeli athlete to win two Olympic medals.He took the bronze medal in 1996.

    After Friedman crossed the finish line, he took a victory dip and then wrapped himself in an Israeli flag when he came out of the water. "The feeling is great. It's a dream. I was focused all the time and I wasn't scared of the pressure. This is definitely the best way to win." Friedman told Israeli TV Channel one.

    He said after his victory that "at the start of the race, I was feeling a bit drained, but I suddenly felt a surge of energy, and I'm sure it was the energies of all those who are waiting for me back home."

    "I'd like to thank the entire country of Israel. I didn't want to celebrate before crossing the finish line; afterwards everything came out," said Friedman.

    Israeli President Moshe Katsav congratulated Friedman and invited him for a meeting to give him a "hug".

    "I'm happy together with everyone about this win," Katsav said."We all had great expectations that Gal would do this."

    Gal's coach Gur Steinberg left his job at Motorola Semi-Conductors to coach him. "Gal executed a brilliant race today tha tbrought him in first," Steinberg told Channel one. "We have a lot of experiences and our strategy doesn't stand in the way of Gal's freedom to do what he feels is necessary."

    The Friedmans saw the race at the home of Gal's aunt. Gal's father Uri told Israel Radio that all his children love windsurfing. "I've been sleeping a lot less lately, but it's all part of the game. Gal wrote to me that he slept better than we did."

    Gal's brother Yuval, who accompanied him to Athens, said, "Everyone knows he's the best in the world and he would have been the best even if he'd come in last."

    Gal's parents thanked everyone for their support. His mother said she didn't believe her son would necessarily rest, but would probably start preparing for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Enditem