Breiana Whitehead (born 1 July 2000) is an Olympic

kitesurfer Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...

from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. She was the first athlete selected for the Australian team for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Early life

Whitehead was born in

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, in 2000. She has one younger brother, Scott Whitehead, who is also a kitesurfer. When she was two years old, their father Murray, who is a boatbuilder, began to introduce her to sailing, and she began sailing on her own when she was eight years old. She began racing at the age of ten.

Career

2019

Whitehead received a bronze medal in the 2019 Formula Kite World Championships at

Lake Garda Lake Garda (, , or , ; ; ) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, between Brescia and Milan to the west, and Verona and Venice to the east. The lake cuts into the edge of the Eastern Alps, Italian Alp ...

, Italy, which was her first medal received in an international competition.

2020

Alongside her brother Scott, Whitehead competed in the 2020 Australian Kitefoiling Championships in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. She won the teams, women's, and Open National kitefoiling events, and was ranked sixth overall.

2023

Whitehead competed at the 2023 Formula Kite World Championships in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, Netherlands, where she placed eleventh, earning a berth for Australia at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

2024

Whitehead was the overall winner of the 53rd Trofeo Princesa Sofía (part of the 2024

Sailing World Cup The Sailing Grand Slam, formerly World Sailing's Sailing World Cup, is a series of sailing (sport), sailing regattas. The World Cup came into existence during the 2008–09 Season. The series includes boats that have competed in the Olympic Games, ...

), receiving the gold medal in Women's

Formula Kite Formula Kite is the kitesurfing class chosen by World Sailing for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The class features a foil kite and a board with a hydrofoil. The equipment is not one-design, but instead competitors use their choice of approved producti ...

. She beat the American

Daniela Moroz Daniela Moroz ( ; born 2 February 2001) is an American sailor who became the World champion at Formula Kite six times between 2016 and 2022. Life Moroz was born in Berkeley in 2001. Her parents were Czech immigrants. They had both left their co ...

, who took second place, and the German Leonie Meyer, who took third. She finished fifth in the 2024 Formula Kite World Championships in

Hyères Hyères (), Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (département), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Al ...

, France. She was the first athlete selected for the Australian team for the

, which was the first time that kitesurfing was represented as an Olympic sport. She placed 7th in the Women's Formula Kite event. Whitehead received the 2024 Female Australian Sailor of the Year award for her accomplishments at the Trofeo Princesa Sofía and the Summer Olympics.

Personal life

In 2022, Whitehead graduated from

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cair ...

with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree. She designs her own boards.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehead, Breiana 2000 births Living people Kitesurfers Australian female sailors (sport) Olympic sailors for Australia Sailors at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Formula Kite Sportspeople from Townsville 21st-century Australian sportswomen