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Justina Kitchen

Kiwis take bronze at Formula Kite Europeans

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Justina Kitchen quite enjoyed the view from her step on the podium at the Formula Kite European Championships in Sardinia and it's something she hopes to experience more often.

Kitchen teamed up with Lukas Walton-Keim to claim bronze in the mixed relay, which was making its debut at the European championships. It was a significant result given mixed kitefoiling has been included on the programme for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Kitchen was also fifth in the women's event and Sam Bullock seventh in the men's field to round out an impressive week from New Zealand's top kitefoilers.

The mixed relay featured national teams of one man and one women who each completed a single lap of the track, with the added drama of a flying handover. The races were held close to the beach in Sardinia's Sinis Peninsula, with heats barely lasting six minutes each in the rapid-fire format.

Kitefoiling has been awarded one spot at the Paris Games and mixed teams racing helps achieve the gender parity goal sought by the International Olympic Committee.

Great Britain's Connor Bainbridge and Ellie Aldridge, who switched from the 49erFX to kitefoiling a year ago, took the title ahead of Russia's Valeria Garashchenko and Alexey Chibizov with Kitchen and Walton-Keim third. 

Lukas Walton-Keim
Lukas Walton-Keim. Photos: IKA

Twenty-two teams from 12 nations competed in the relay, including five teams from France, but a number of the fancied combinations came unstuck in the shifty, eight-knot breezes.

"It’s pretty amazing to get my first podium at a major event and something we hope to be repeating," Kitchen said. "The trial format we raced with at this event favoured a strong performance in the semifinals. We were lucky and sailed well in some pretty tricky conditions in the semifinals.

"At the start of one race I managed to start and my competitors had dropped their kites in the water. Our performance in the final wasn’t great but we were carried through from our semifinal heat win. It’s early days and there will be lots of changes in the next few years, but it’s nice to know we can make it happen."

Kitchen also finished fifth in the 30-strong women's event. She finished out of the top 10 only three times across the 19 races and one of them was when she retired after causing a tangle.

Daniela Moroz of the United States dominated the field, winning 18 races, to finish 32 points clear of Aldridge with Australia's Breiana Whitehead a further 17 points behind in third.

"I came into the regatta hoping to crack into the top 10, so am pretty pleased to be in the top five," Kitchen said. "There was some really close racing in the top bunch and I have come away with lots to work on. It’s really good to know I’m in the mix at the top."

Bullock was the best placed of the Kiwis in seventh in the 60-strong men's fleet, with Walton-Keim 20th.

"This has been my best ever regatta to date," Bullock said. "I was well in front of many who I have only been able to beat very rarely.

"I was starting really well - I nailed 17 of 19 starts - and my upwind speed was better than it has ever been. I think the European championships was a very positive regatta for all the New Zealand team. We all showed areas that we were excelling and areas to improve."

France's Axel Mazella took the title ahead of Slovenia's Toni Vodisek with Theo de Ramecourt from France in third.

Kitchen and Bullock will compete in this month's Beach Games in Qatar, which will feature 14 sports from skateboarding and waterskiing to beach football and beach tennis.

Results and standings from the Formula Kite European Championships in Italy:

Mixed teams racing (22 teams)

1st: Ellie Aldridge / Connor Bainbridge (GBR)
2nd: Valeria Garashchenko / Alexey Chibizov (RUS)
3rd: Justina Kitchen / Lukas Walton-Keim (NZL)

Men (60 kites)

1st: Axel Mazella (FRA) 2 2 (31 DNC) 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 3 - 18 points
2nd: Toni Vodisek (SLO) 3 3 2 1 (6) 1 1 5 6 2 1 - 25 pts
3rd: Theo de Ramecourt (FRA) 1 1 3 3 1 (7) 3 6 7 3 2 - 30 pts

7th: Sam Bullock (NZL) 6 6 6 17 5 4 8 (25) 4 6 9 - 71 pts
20th: Lukas Walton-Keim (NZL) (27) 27 21 21 8 26 9 19 18 14 15 - 178 pts

Women (30 kites)

1st: Daniela Moroz (USA) (1) (1) 1 1 (5) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - 16 pts
2nd: Ellie Aldridge (GBR) 3 (5) 3 5 1 5 3 4 2 (10) 2 2 3 4 2 3 (12) 3 3 - 48 pts
3rd: Breiana Whitehead (AUS) 5 6 4 2 4 4 4 (10) 3 2 4 (12) 6 (10) 4 5 3 5 4 - 65 pts

5th: Justina Kitchen (NZL) 2 2 (31 RCT) 4 3 8 2 6 7 6 5 7 4 5 (25) (14) 4 7 6 - 78 pts

Full results here

Kitefoiling