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Daniela Moroz Wins Another World Championship

Daniela Moroz, 20, of Lafayette in the East Bay, secured her fifth Women’s Formula Kite World Champion title in the western Sardinia town of Torre Grande on October 11-17.

Daniela Moroz with medal
Bay Area kiting phenom Daniela Moroz now has five world championships to her credit.
© 2021 Robert Hajduk

In the thrill of the adrenaline and high emotions, Moroz reflected on her accomplishment. “It feels really good. I have to give all my props to the whole squad, the coaches, the team, my parents, friends and family for the support. I’m absorbing it all right now.

“The conditions were very difficult this week. Even when it was windy, it was super-shifty, so making a good plan was tricky. You had to change your decisions and tactics on the go. The regatta was full of reacting to what was happening on the course. It was very technical racing, and I’m happy with how I did throughout the event. I sailed really well and saw improvement in my sailing even since Formula Kite Europeans last month.”

Light winds caused a delay on shore for the four male and four female athletes who qualified for finals. Waiting on shore, with a fifth consecutive title in such close reach, Moroz said, “I tried not to think about racing too much. I had a relaxed breakfast with the squad and our team and tried to stay calm and confident. Once I was on the water, I got a little nervous. But as soon as the warning signal went off, I switched modes and dialed in.

“For the final race, I didn’t have the best start,” said Moroz. “I was on time, but I didn’t have the best positioning on the line. The right was a little favored, and I ended up going farther left than the rest of the women and had to roll the fleet on a port tack when I crossed back. When I reached the starboard layline, Lauriane Nolot (from France) had already tacked to lay the mark, so I tacked inside of her. I ended up laying the line a little better than her and had a better rounding, which set me up for the downwind and the leeward rounding. I had a great few roundings after fighting for the positioning on the first windward mark, and that was the move that won the race. By the final upwind leg, I had the bullet locked in.”

Daniela at the finish
Moroz was all smiles after finishing the final race in first.
© 2021 Robert Hajduk

Other results from the US KiteFoil Squad were:

  • 15th – Markus Edegran (West Palm Beach, FL)
  • 28th – Kai Calder (Alameda)
  • 33rd – Evan Heffernan (Santa Barbara)
  • 34th – Will Cyr (San Diego)

See www.formulakite.org for full results. This was the largest World Championships in Formula Kite history. It would make sense that the sport is growing: Kiting will make its debut at the Olympics in France in 2024.

1 Comment

  1. Memo Gidley 2 years ago

    So awesome Daniela!!! Nice to see local SF Bay area sailor kick ass against all!!!

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