Paris 2024 Olympic sailor Breiana Whitehead to fly high for Australia in new kitefoiling craft

Breiana Whitehead sailed to PNG as a kid for fun, works behind a bar for extra cash and crashes “all the time’’ at high speed. She is also about to help change the face of Olympic sailing forever.

Breiana Whitehead spent months living on a boat as a kid, works behind a bar and serves food for extra cash and has no problem at all with crashing at high speed and bouncing across the water “all the time’’.

Add in the fact the 23-year-old did her first sailing race with her dad at just six months and also has a degree in mechanical engineering and it makes this sailor one of the most interesting characters to compete for Australia in Paris next year on one of the most fascinating and entertaining crafts ever to be raced in the Games arena.

“It’s like flying. It’s just cool,’’ said the kitefoiler, only the third athlete to be named on the Australian team for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

“It’s certainly not slow or boring. It’s a lot of fun.’’

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Breiana and brother Scott have been kitefoiling since their teens.

The introduction of the kitefoiling and the new windsurfer class, the iQFoil, is part of a concerted effort by sailing to update and popularise its image with super fast, super fun classes it hopes will make the sport cooler and more attractive to sailors, sports fans and TV audiences.

Whitehead, who hails from Townsville but is based out the Southport yacht club on the Gold Coast when not in Europe campaigning, believes kitefoiling is the perfect craft to do both at the Olympics being sailed on the Mediterranean off the famous port of Marseille.

Kitefoiler Breiana Whitehead poses during an Australian Paris 2024 Olympic Games Team Selection announcement. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

“It doesn’t look like sailing bit the racing feels like it,’’ said Whitehead who has cracked 70km/h while foiling.

“I love the speed, that’s what draws me. It feels like flying. You pop out of the water and everything goes quite and you fly.

“I still crash a lot though. We say if you don’t you are not trying hard enough.

“I hope it does make everyone enjoy the sport more, get more people involved.’’

Breiana Whitehead will make her Olympic debut next year.

From a sailing family, Whitehead said she was take out for a Wednesday night sail by her father when just six months and has been addicted to the sport for as long as she can remember.

This addiction will see her became an Olympic pioneer next year after an 11th at the recent world championships and repeated strong performances over the past few seasons secured her a spot on the team heading to France. She will be the only sailor named onto the team this year.

Kitfoiling is one of two new events on the sailing program at the 2024 Games.

She is also dreaming of having someone very special by her side at the event in brother Scott who is also campaigning for a spot at the Games.

“That would be a dream. Cool,’’ she said.

“If you told the little girl from Townsville, who was obsessed with sailing, that she was going to the Olympics in 2024 I don’t think she would have believed you.’’

A total of 10 sailing events will be raced at the next Olympics, including kitefoiling and the new windsurfer class, the iQFoil which boasts hydrofoils, from July 28.

Australia won two gold medals at the Tokyo Games in the Laser (Matt Wearn) and 470 men’s dinghy (Mat Belcher and Will Ryan).

The 470 men’s class has been dropped in favour of a mixed event but Wearn is also expected to be back for the Paris Olympics.

Breiana Whitehead

Aged: 23

Club: Townsville Sailing Club

Experience: Olympic Debut, Kitefoil sailor since 2018

Best results: Silver – 2023 Kitefoil World Series, 6th – 2022 Formula Kite European Championships, 7th – 2022 Formula Kite World Championships, Bronze, 2019 Formula Kite World Championships.