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Cresting the waves at speeds of up to 40 knots – the equivalent of 46 miles per hour – kitesurfing is set to breathe new life into the Olympic regatta after making its long-awaited Games debut in Marseille on Sunday.
Executed at a pace that could leave even sprint cyclists standing, the sport’s introduction has split traditionalists and those who believe it can follow the likes of breaking and skateboarding and inspire a new generation to get out on the water.
British kitesurfing coach Stevie Morrison, a former Olympian and two-time world champion in Fireball and 49er categories, is firmly in the latter camp and believes its “mind-blowing” spectacle can take the Games – even almost 500 miles from its Paris epicentre – by storm.
“They are achieving high speeds while they are essentially balanced on a tea tray, connected to a kite that is 15 metres up in the sky,” Morrison told the PA news agency.
“Visually it’s stunning. The three-dimensional aspect is mind-blowing. I think people are going to be mesmerised a lot by the ballet-type skills the athletes show on the board.”
Kitesurfers race equipped with helmets, goggles and impact vests to mitigate the possibility of dramatic crashes. Conversely, a sudden drop of wind will bring the kites out of the sky and leave athletes floundering in the water.
Ellie Aldridge, one of two British kitesurfers and a genuine medal contender having won the European title and finished second in the Olympic test event last year, said she became gripped by the sport after switching from more traditional craft.
“It’s crazy how something can take over your whole life,” Aldridge told PA. “It can be scary because you’re going so fast and the risks are quite high. It’s a case of having to switch that scary part of your brain off.
“It’s a bit like going on a rollercoaster, without the G-forces. But you are so locked in that you don’t notice the speed. It doesn’t feel like you are going as fast as you are on other, slower boats.”
The introduction of kitesurfing is intended to bolster an Olympic fleet that has always been able to evolve in accordance with latest trends. At the first Paris Olympics in 1900, the sailing programme including a 20-ton-plus class, which was won by Britain’s Cecil Quentin.
Kiting is the lure that is getting 10-year-old kids out on the water. It has captured the attention of the youth and this is the showcase it needs to get it to the next level— GB kitesurfing coach Stevie Morrison
Morrison believes the sight of athletes zipping around at high speed just off the Corniche in Marseille – making it the closest thing to a sailing spectator sport – will appeal to a whole new demographic.
“I grew up in Exmouth, and if you go down to the seafront there now, there might be a few traditional dinghies out there but there are 60 or 70 kitesurfers doing jumps and tricks,” said Morrison.
“Kiting is the lure that is getting 10-year-old kids out on the water. It has captured the attention of the youth and this is the showcase it needs to get it to the next level.
“The Olympics is for young people, not for 40, 50, 60-year-old men like us. It’s about inspiring kids and getting them out on the water. And that is exactly what having kitesurfing at the Olympics will do.”
