Nika Kornitzky

(1982 - )

Nika Kornitzky was born in Israel on August 18, 1982.

Nika took her first steps with the Hapoel Tel Aviv sailing club, competing in the 420 model event. Along with her former partner, Karin Gal, she took the sailing world by storm. The young team took third place in the 1997 World Championship, when Kornitzky was just fifteen years old. That same year they won the World Team Championship and seemed set to conquer the 420 event.

Kornitzky had different ideas and decided to move the Olympic event of the 470 model. She took several years to adjust and find the perfect partner, which she did in Vered Buskila. She finally felt confident enough to enter the World Championship, with her partner, in 2002. The team finished 10th in Cagliari and proceeded to finish 9th in the 2003 World Championship in Cadiz, Spain. After a disappointing 12th place finish in the 2003 European Championship, the duo rebounded for a surprising bronze medal win in the 2004 European Championship. Kornitzky and Buskila were no longer the underdogs in the 2004 World Championships held in Zadar, Croatia. They took another bronze and were in top form heading into the Olympics.

Nika and her sailing partner Vered Buskila got off to a bad start in the 2004 Games. The team was disqualified from the first race of the 470 model event for a false start on August 14, 2004. Kornitzky and Buskila placed 12th in the second race, and did so on a 1:30 performance. They suffered another sub-par performance in the third race held on August 15. A 16th place finish at 3:25 keeps them far from a much coveted medal. Race four was the worst yet with a horrendous time (12:55) and a 19th place finish. The duo displayed better form in the fifth race, as they came in sixth (7:15). The fierce winds which had hit Greece in the last few sails had calmed, and the Israeli's did a better job in the calm seas. They finished the seventh race in 12th place with a good time (1:17). The 8th race saw the Israeli team finish fifth with their best time yet (0:50). Any hope the duo had of making a big finish was dashed in their eleventh and final race, as they finished 18th (3:09) and ranked 18th in the final standings.

Sources: Jews In Sports