Yoel Sela (יואל סלע; born June 10, 1951) is an Israeli Olympic competitive sailor.[1] He was born in Hadera, Israel, and is Jewish.[2][3][4]
Sailing career
When Sela competed in the Olympics he was 5–7 (171 cm) tall, and weighed 168 lbs (76 kg).[1]
Sela competed for Israel at the 1976 Summer Olympics with Yehuda Maayan, at the age of 25, in Montréal, Canada, in Sailing – Mixed Two Person Heavyweight Dinghy, and came in 17th.[1] He competed for Israel at the 1984 Summer Olympics with Eldad Amir, at the age of 33, in Los Angeles, California, in Sailing – Mixed Two Person Heavyweight Dinghy, and came in 8th.[1]
Sela competed for Israel at the 1988 Summer Olympics with Eldad Amir, at the age of 37, in Seoul, Korea, in Sailing – Mixed Two Person Heavyweight Dinghy, and came in 4th.[1] They came very close to winning the first Olympic medal in Israeli history, missing one by 11.30 points.[2] Their second race fell on Yom Kippur, and Israeli officials forbade them from competing that day, so they had missed that race.[2] Had they been able to compete in the second race, they would have certainly medaled.[2][5][6]
In 1990, Sela and Amir came in 5th in the World Championships.[7] In 1991, they won the Italian Open and came in second in the France Open.[2]