Friends and supporters of kite surfer Ellie Aldridge have spoken of the “buzz” created by the “inspiring” 27-year-old as she won the first gold medal in the Formula Kite discipline at the Olympics.
A crowd gathered at Parkstone Yacht Club in Poole , Dorset , where Aldridge first tried out sailing as a child before moving on to become the first winner of the kite-surfing final which took place in Marseille in southern France.
Having only taken up the sport six years ago, Aldridge quickly began to show her talent having competed in the European Championships in 2019 before becoming a World Championships medallist in 2021 and then winning silver at an Olympic test event in 2023 before winning the Formula Kite European Championships in Portsmouth in the same year.
Former coach Oli Woodcock told the PA news agency that he was not surprised that she had gone on to such success after shining during a talent-spotting event.
He said: “She had to learn to kite-foil and then apply her racing knowledge and skills to be able to perform in the new discipline.
“So in terms of how she’s developed, she’s developed from not being able to kite to being a medallist on a regular basis on the world stage.”
Describing her dedication, he added: “Ellie is someone that just loves being active, being outside and being on the water.
“So she’s really embraced kite foiling, she was always on the water and it was always a struggle to sometimes get her to have a rest day.
“She’s always out there and learning and throwing yourself into everything.”
On her success, he added: “She’s super calm under pressure, she’s really level under that high pressure environment, more so than any anyone else I’ve coached.”
Roger Bennett, commodore of Parkstone Yacht Club, said that he had seen Aldridge grow up on the water since attending a parent and child event when she was six or seven years old and added: “She progressed all the way through so it’s fantastic that that relatively small girl is now at the Olympics.”
He added there was a “buzz” at the centre around her success and said: “We had a big youth event last week and a lot was made of the fact that just 10 years ago she was competing in an equivalent event and they love the idea that someone like them could be in the Olympics in a few years’ time.”
Describing the atmosphere as supporters met at the centre to watch Aldridge’s win, he added: “We had a lot of club members here.
“The atmosphere was fantastic all the way through the race and it’s lovely to see her claim a gold.
“It will definitely do something for our youngsters here at Parkstone because we will be able to point to this and say ‘you could do this yourself one day’.
“Ellie came from our junior fleet and travelled all the way up and now look; she is at the top.”
Rob Howlett, Royal Yachting Association (RYA) regional manager, said that Aldridge was a role model for hundreds of young sailors and kite-surfers across the country.
He said: “Role models are crucial in all sports but in water sports especially where it takes some real bravery and some standout commitment to get to the top and I think role models are crucial.
“Resilience is something that water sports really brings out in people so seeing the way she performs really does show that water sports is a great way to develop your character and build yourself as a person as well as a sportsperson so I think she does a great job of being a role model for that.”
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