By ALLON SINAI
Few expected Nufar Edelman to make the Israel delegation to the Beijing Olympics, but the 25-year-old became the first Israeli woman to meet the criteria by finishing seventh in last year's Laser Radial World Championships in Cascais, Portugal.
The Laser Radial is a small singlehanded sailing dinghy.
Edelman still has to finish among the top 12 at the European Championships, which start on Saturday, to officially book her flight to China as she met the criteria in 2007 and not this year.
At this year's World Championships, Edelman finished in a very disappointing 36th position and will need a much improved performance next week if she's not to miss out on the Games at the last moment.
Edelman's recent struggles mean the expectations from her at the Olympics aren't high and a top 20 finish will be regarded as a success.