Australian kitefoiler
Breiana Whitehead (born 1 July 2000) is an Olympic kitesurfer from Australia.[3] She was the first athlete selected for the Australian team for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Early life
Whitehead was born in Townsville, Queensland,[4] in 2000.[5] She has one younger brother, Scott Whitehead, who is also a kitesurfer.[6] When she was two years old, their father Murray, who is a boat-builder, began to introduce her to sailing,[7] and she began sailing on her own when she was eight years old.[1] She began racing at the age of ten.[2]
Career
2019
Whitehead received a bronze medal in the 2019 Formula Kite World Championships at Lake Garda, Italy, which was her first medal received in an international competition.[8][9]
2020
Alongside her brother Scott, Whitehead competed in the 2020 Australian Kitefoiling Championships in Melbourne. She won the teams, women's, and Open National kitefoiling events,[6] and was ranked sixth overall.[10]
2023
Whitehead competed at the 2023 Formula Kite World Championships in The Hague, Netherlands, where she placed eleventh, earning a berth for Australia at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[11]
2024
Whitehead was the overall winner of the 53rd Trofeo Princesa Sofia (part of the 2024 Sailing World Cup), receiving the gold medal in Women's Formula Kite. She beat the American Daniela Moroz, who took second place, and the German Leonie Meyer, who took third.[12] She finished fifth in the 2024 Formula Kite World Championships in Hyères, France.[13]
She was the first athlete selected for the Australian team[14] for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris,[13] which was the first time that kitesurfing was represented as an Olympic sport.[1] She placed 7th in the Women's Formula Kite event.[15]
Personal life
In 2022, Whitehead graduated from James Cook University with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree.[1] She designs her own boards.[7][1]
References
External links
