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British Kitefoiler Ellie Aldridge Claims World Bronze at Formula Kite Championships
Britain’s female kite foilers showed their strength with three riders finishing in the top seven at the World Championships – and Ellie Aldridge claiming yet another podium finish.
Aldridge took bronze as a thrilling week of intense racing in Cagliari, Sardinia, featuring the world’s best Formula Kite athletes came to a climax.
Right behind Aldridge in the final table was teammate Katie Dabson, scoring her best-ever result on the world stage as she came home in fourth.
After rocketing up the leaderboard towards the tail end of the regatta, Maddy Anderson also posted a personal best with a seventh-place finish.
“I’m really happy to be up in third place at the Worlds,” said Aldridge from Poole, who already had two bronze medals in 2022. “The first day wasn’t very good for me and I was a bit worried that it just wasn’t going to be my week, so I’m proud to have climbed back up despite a wobbly start.
“It was a shame I was too far away from the top two to really pressure them and push for the top spot, but we’ll get there.”
After earning a spot in the eight-person semi-final, Dabson, from Bedford, showed spectacular form to recover from two crashes, both while leading, to score a crucial win and book her place in the final.
“I’m coming away from the regatta super happy with the result and really pleased with how I raced,” she said. After a pretty consistent week I made life quite hard for myself in the semi-finals with quite a few mistakes in the first couple of races which put the pressure on to win the last race, but I’m glad I managed to deliver in the end.
“It’s awesome to see all the hard work we’ve all put in this year paying off, and I’m excited to keep the momentum going into training over the winter.”
Katie Dabson, scored her best-ever result on the world stage as she came home in fourth
Anderson (above) also displayed impressive tenacity as she clawed her way up the leaderboard from a slow start to win a coveted place in the semis.
“Starting off the week with some big scores, I had to be the comeback kid to ensure a spot in the semi-finals,” she said. “It’s felt tricky for sure, but I’m super proud of my performance at various times throughout the week, and also my progression this year.”
Lily Young and Jemima Crathorne finished the event in 22nd and 23rd, respectively out of a fleet 58 women to round off an impressive performance by the British contingent.
In the men’s fleet, Guy Bridge was the sole Brit in action as Connor Bainbridge was forced to sit the regatta out due to injury.
Bridge recorded a string of top five finishes over the 15-race series, ending the competition in 17th overall.
“It’s been a great event – so good to see three of our girls in the top seven,” Bridge said. “For me it was mixed with ups and downs a few mistakes. Where the level this sport is right now it’s super tough to come back from, but I’m generally happy with how I sailed the event and came back from tricky situations.”
America Wins But British Kite Foiler Ellie Aldridge Takes Silver at the 2021 Formula Kite World Championships
British kite foiler Ellie Aldridge bagged herself another international medal taking silver at the 2021 Formula Kite World Championships in Torregrande, Sardinia.
With two European titles to her name, Aldridge has now added a world podium to her growing collection of silverware in the new Olympic class.
The world championships in Sardinia is the first since World Sailing announced the kites would get two sets of individual medals as opposed to a single mixed event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Ahead of Aldridge, American Daniela Moroz once again proved too strong for the international field claiming her fifth consecutive title. France’s Lauriane Nolot completed the podium in third.
Aldridge, 24 from Poole, Dorset, said: “It feels pretty good to come away with second. I was super lucky to qualify directly into the finals in second place because the winds on the final day were crazy, like the most unstable breeze I’ve ever kited in.
British kite foiler Ellie Aldridge
“It was a full-on week with wind from almost every direction, so we definitely had the variety you’d want at a world championships.
“Unfortunately I didn’t do enough to take the title away from Daniela this time, but I got a few bullets from her so that’ll keep me happy until next year.”
Aldridge was one of three British female riders to make it through the qualifying series although she had the luxury of going straight through to the final in second place.
Teammates Maddy Anderson and Katie Dabson had the unenviable task of trying to make it through a tough semi-final process in which only one of six could go through to the final showdown from each of the two groups.
Placed in the same group, neither Anderson and Dabson could advance finally finishing their championships in 10th and 13th respectively.
Anderson, 26 from Weymouth, Dorset, said: “We’ve had all sorts of conditions this week, perfect really for a world champs, so in the end I’m really pleased that I managed to put together a decent series, especially after putting in some deep scores on day one.
“I learned heaps this week round the racecourse and also learning to reset after setbacks; I’m motivated and excited to make some big gains over the winter with the team.”
From the other British interests in the fleet, Jemima Crathorne finished in 20th while Lily Young was fifth in the silver fleet on her return from injury.
In the men’s competition, both Connor Bainbridge and Guy Bridge fell just short of a chance for a medal going out at the semi-final stage.
Both posted top ten finishes in qualifying to make the semi-finals but couldn’t get through what is proving to be a very tough route to a medal.
Bainbridge eventually finished sixth with Bridge just behind in seventh.
All results can be found here
