Champions of the Wind: The Best of the Kenya Kite Cup 2023

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The annual Kenya Kite Cup, which takes place in the coastal town of Diani at the Sands at Nomad, is a gathering of kite surfers from around the world. The event is not only a competition, but it also aims to raise awareness and support for conservation efforts by Diani Turtle Watch.

Diani, located on the southern coast of Kenya, is a prime destination for kite surfing due to its consistent wind conditions and picturesque beaches. The event is a perfect opportunity for all the kite surfers to come together and showcase their skills while supporting a good cause.

Here are some of the unstoppable kite surfers of the 2023 Kenya Kite Cup.

Jeroen Gerritsen

Jeroene is a forever smiling, friendly and charismatic kite surfer from the Netherlands who values the importance of shared passion and fun within the kite surfing community. He and a group of fellow kite surfers travel to different destinations around the world during the winter to surf, including Sri Lanka, Thailand, South Africa and Kenya.

He had a serious accident 15 years ago, during a competition that broke his neck and back, which forced him to take a break from competing. The 2023 Kite Cup was his comeback competition, where he placed second in the freestyle category and third in the relay.

Vita Popova

Vita is a professional kite surfer from Russia who has previously won the Kenya Kite Cup for two consecutive years. This year, in 2023, she placed first in the women’s freestyle category of the competition.

Jacopo Cantini

Jacopo Cantini is a four-time Kenya kite cup champion and pro-rider. He is also founder of the JC kite school in Watamu, Kenya. In the 2023 Kenya Kite cup, he bagged second place in the relay and first place in the freestyle category.

Laetitia Guidicelli

Laetitia is a French national who moved to Kenya from Dubai four years ago after a holiday trip to Watamu. She joined JC Kite school in Watamu and has been competing for the last two years. She is also an animal lover and the founder of a social network for pets that facilitates adoption and connections through activities and experiences in various cities.

Leonid Razumovskiy

Leonid is a talented and successful kite surfer of Russian origin who has turned his hobby into a professional career. He is known for his frontroll loop move and runs a kite surfing school in Kenya with his wife. He also competed in the 2023 Kite Cup and placed 3rd in the freestyle category.

Freyja Goldsmith

Freyja Goldsmith (far right) is a French national who began as a paraglider, trained by her world champion father. She prefers the sea to mountains and started taking surf lessons at the age of 12. At 14, she began kite surfing in Turkey and received her teaching license at 18, and has been teaching ever since. She has kite surfed in Costa Rica, Thailand, Italy, and currently lives in Greece.
Omar Bugi, Kenyan
Cynthia Ndonga is a Kenyan national who has been surfing for 6 years. She achieved a notable accomplishment by landing a back roll kite loop in the 2023 Kite Cup. She runs Surfari Afrika, a travel company that explores the Kenyan coastline through kite surfing, and now hopes to expand her journey to other parts of Africa such as Mozambique, Namibia, and Madagascar with a group of nine other kite surfers.
Elwin Ter Horst

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