Lee Korzits

Lee (Lee-El) Korzits (Hebrew: לי (לִי-אֵל) קורזיץ‎; nicknamed Leeka; born 25 March 1984) is an Israeli windsurfer who has won four Windsurfing World Championships titles (in 2003, 2011, 2012, and 2013).[1][2] She competed in the 2004 Olympics, finishing 13th, and at the 2012 Olympics, finishing 6th.[3]

Lee Korzits
Personal information
NationalityIsraeli
Born (1984-03-25) March 25, 1984
Hofit, Israel
Height1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Weight63 kg (139 lb)[1]
Sport
Country Israel
SportSailing
Event(s)Windsurfing
ClubEmek Hefer Sailing Club, Michmoret, Israel
Medal record
Women's windsurfing
Representing  Israel
Windsurfing World Championships
2003 CadizMistral
2011 PerthRS:X
2012 CadizRS:X
2013 BuziosRS:X

Early life

Korzits was born in Hofit, Israel, to a Jewish family.[4][5] Her mother is a swimmer and her father is a lifeguard.[6] She grew up in the neighboring beach town of Michmoret, Israel, between Tel Aviv and Haifa.[6][7] Her sister, Bar, and brother, Tom—who was her first coach, are both windsurfers.[6] At 14 years of age, she was the top female judoka in her age group in Israel.[5]

Windsurfing career

Korzits started windsurfing at eight years of age.[5] Her club is Emek Hefer Sailing Club, in Michmoret.[1] She has been coached by Ben Finkelstein.[7] She and rival and fellow former world champion Zofia Noceti-Klepacka of Poland got matching tattoos on their right arms in Israel, and Korzits said: "We come to fight on the water, and be friends on the beach."[7]

Winning her first world title at the age of 19 in the Mistral One Design at the 2003 ISAF Sailing World Championships in Cadiz, Spain, Korzits became the first female Israeli world champion in any sport, and the youngest surfer ever to win the world title.[8][9]

Korzits represented Israel at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens at the age of 20.[1] She competed in the Women's Mistral One Design and finished in a disappointing 13th position.

In April 2005, while surfing in Hawaii, Korzits was severely injured and nearly killed after being hit by another surfer.[8] The surfboard collided into her back, breaking two of her ribs, breaking her leg, and injuring her spine.[5] At first the doctors thought that irreversible damage was caused to her spine, and told her that she might be paralyzed, might never walk again, and that they doubted whether she would be able to sail professionally again.[7][10] She later returned to Israel for rehabilitation and made a full recovery. Her string of serious injuries kept her from competing, and she eventually lost her spot on the Israeli Olympic team for the Beijing 2008 Games to teammate Ma'ayan Davidovich. She returned to sailing in 2010, claiming that the injury had motivated her to do what she loves most. Then in 2010 at the European Championships in Poland, a competitor knocked her off her board, she became unconscious and trapped in the water beneath her sail, and she came within 30 seconds of drowning.[7][10]

In September 2011 Korzits won a silver medal at the RS:X European Windsurfing Championships in Bulgaria, her first medal in a major competition since her world title in 2003.[6]

Her success continued at the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships in Perth, Western Australia, where she competed in the Women's RS:X and won her second world title.[11] By winning the world title she became the first Israeli, male or female, to win two world titles at any sport. Readers of The Jerusalem Post voted her the 2011 Sports Personality of the Year.[12][10]

In March 2012 she added her third world title at the 2012 RS:X World Championships in Cadiz, Spain.[5]

Korzits represented Israel at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London at the age of 28.[1] She was the # 1 qualifier in the world, based on her having won the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships. She competed in the Women's RS:X, was tied for the silver medal going into the last race, and finished 6th.[5] Asked to comment, she said: "I did my best. The others did better."[13] Still teary, she said: "I was proud to represent Israel. You can cry over a lost medal; there are more important things in life, like friendship."[13]

In 2013 she won the world championships in Buzios, Brazil.[14][11] As of 2013, no other Israeli had ever won more world titles (other than paraplegic athletes), and no other Israeli had ever won a world title three times in a row.[15]

She did not compete in the 2016 Olympics, due to her health issues.[16]

Awards and recognition

In 2017, Korzits was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[17]

Achievements
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
2003 World Championships Cadiz 1st Mistral
2004 Olympic Games Athens 13th Mistral
2011 European Championships Burgas 2nd RS:X
2011 World Championships Perth 1st RS:X
2012 World Championships Cadiz 1st RS:X
2012 Olympic Games London 6th RS:X
2013 World Championships Buzios 1st RS:X

See also

References
  1. "Lee Korzits," Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.
  2. "World Championship Sailing Medalists - Women's Windsurfing". hickoksports.com. Archived from the original on 16 December 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  3. Kalman, Aaron (August 7, 2012). "Korzits fails in bid for windsurfing medal".
  4. "Israeli Sports", Jewish Sports Review, Vol. 9, No. 11, Issue 107, p. 21, January/February 2015.
  5. "Surfing almost killed her. Now Lee Korzits hopes it will bring gold," The Times of Israel.
  6. "The sea is a magnet for Israel's windsurfing champ"
  7. "Israeli windsurfer Lee Korzits preps for London," Fox News.
  8. "Israeli surfer secures world championship victory," The Times of Israel.
  9. "First Israeli female world champion"
  10. "Lee Korzits - Sports Personality of the Year"
  11. "Israeli windsurfer Lee Korzits secures 4th world championship," Haaretz.
  12. "Gerbi honored as Israel’s best of 2016," The Jerusalem Post.
  13. "For medal-less Israel, failure is relative," The Times of Israel.
  14. "Israeli windsurfers dominate podium at championship," The Times of Israel.
  15. "Haaretz ranks Israel’s top 10 athletes of all time" Haaretz.
  16. "One year to Rio: Does Israel stand a chance?", Ynet.
  17. "Athletes elected to International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame," The Times of Israel.
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