Israeli skier wins Israel's first ever medal at Winter Youth Olympics
Noa Szollos won the Bronze Medal in Alpine skiing, standing out among 62 athletes from 30 countries.
By AARON REICHNoa Szollos stands alongside Amanda Salzgeber and Amelie Klopfenstein on the winner's podium for Girls' Alpine skiing at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland.(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Israeli Noa Szollos made history at the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland, by taking home Israel's first medal in the Winter Olympics, the Israel Ski Team announced in a video on Facebook.Hungarian-born Szollos, 17 years old, won the Bronze Medal in Alpine skiing, standing out among 62 athletes from 30 countries. She was also slated to compete in the slalom and giant slalom events."I couldn't be any prouder," Szollos said of her victory. "It's an amazing feeling and I can't describe it."It looked difficult at first glance, but when I was actually on the course, it didn't seem so difficult," she added.While she admits she made a few mistakes, Szollos felt she otherwise had "a perfect run."Showing off her medal, Szollos said, "I hope I made everyone proud at home and... it's a big deal, it's the very first Olympic medal at the winter games, [for either] youth or normal Olympics for Israel, so I think it means a lot."Israel has competed in the Olympic Games for years and has won a total of nine medals at the time of writing, more than half of which are from judo. However, Team Israel had yet to win any medals at the Winter Olympics.However, athletics are becoming more prominent in the Jewish state, with more Israelis than ever before qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and high hopes are being placed on world champion judoka Sagi Muki and other competitors to bring home more than two medals at the games – something Israel has thus far yet to accomplish.While she won't be competing there, hopes are high that Szollos – who has won numerous championships and is currently training in Austria – will bring home the gold for Israel at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
