Ellie Aldridge

Last updated

Ellie Aldridge
Born (1996-12-29) 29 December 1996 (age 27)
Poole, Dorset, England
Occupation Formula Kite competitor
Known for kitefoiling

Eleanor (Ellie) Aldridge (born 29 December 1996) is a British sailor from Dorset who competes in women's kite foiling. She won the 2023 Formula Kite European Championships and took the silver that year in the World Championships. She is a member of the British sailing team at the 2024 Paris Olympics and one of the 20 women chosen to compete at Formula Kite.

Life

Aldridge was born in 29 December 1996 [1] in Poole, Dorset. [2] She and her mother tried sailing when they were seven and she joined Parkstone Yacht Club where she experimented with sailing dinghies. [3]

In 2021 she beat French windfoiler Lauriane Nolot into third place at that year's Formula Kite World Championships in Torregrande in Sardinia. However she took the silver as she was beaten by the American Daniela Moroz. [4] In 2022 she took the silver medal in the KiteFoil World Series Traunsee in Austria. She was beaten by the Polish surfer Julia Damasiewicz, who took the gold medal, and the American Daniela Moroz was third. [5]

Aldridge led the UK contingent at the World Championships in August 2023 in The Hague. Lauriane Nolot won the event and Aldridge took the silver. [6] She was followed in third and fourth place by fellow British competitors, Lily Young and Katie Dabson. [7] In 2023 she was training with four other "GB Kite Girls" in Weymouth. Katie Dabson and the other "GB Kite Girls" were assisting her training for the Olympics. [8] The "GB Kite Girls" were Aldridge, Maddy Anderson, Jemima Crathorne, Katie Dabson and Lily Young. [9]

She won the 2023 Formula Kite European Championships in Portsmouth beating the Dutch Annelous Lammerts and the French Poema Newland. [10] This was her first significant win and she took first, despite a crash. Lauriane Nolot, the world champion was not in Portsmouth for the event. [11] There was an olympic rehearsal type event later in Paris, in 2024, when she came second to Nolot. [12]

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris includes new sports and one of these was kite foiling which had been selected in 2019. [13] When the UK announced the first members of its 2024 Olympic sailing team then Aldridge was one of the eleven names. [12] She joined a team that included the Olympic medallists John Gimson, Anna Burnet and the windsurfer Emma Wilson. [14] The theory is, that the heaver you are then the faster you go at Kite surfing. The World Champion Lauriane Nolet was 15 kg heavier than her, so Aldridge's preparation included putting on weight. [7]

In February 2024 she was in the Canary Islands competing at the first Fuerteventura KiteFoil International Open Cup. Aldridge won the event leading the French Jessie Kampman and the Italian Maggie Pescetto. [15]

In March 2024 the Formula Kite European championships took place in Spain. Aldridge finished in fifth place just ahead of Lily Young, [16] however in May at the Formula Kite World Sailing Championships she came second to the Frenchwoman Lauriane Nolot. [17]

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References

  1. ↑ "Ellie Aldridge | Team GB". www.teamgb.com. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  2. ↑ "Eleanor Aldridge". World Sailing. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  3. ↑ "Ellie Aldridge | Team GB". www.teamgb.com. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  4. ↑ "America Wins But British Kite Foiler Ellie Aldridge Takes Silver at the 2021 Formula Kite World Championships". afloat.ie. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  5. ↑ "2022 KiteFoil World Series Traunsee - Overall". www.sail-world.com. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  6. ↑ "Poole sailor Ellie seals statement silver ahead of Olympics". Bournemouth Echo. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Meet the team: Ellie Aldridge". British Sailing Team. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  8. ↑ "Katie Dabson and the power of the GB Formula Kite girls". East Lothian Courier. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  9. ↑ "The GB Kite Girls introduce you to their new Olympic sailing class | Team GB". www.teamgb.com. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "2023 Europeans". Welcome to the IKA Formula Kite Class. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  11. ↑ "Formula Kite European Championships: Briton Ellie Aldridge crowned European kitefoil champion". BBC Sport. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  12. 1 2 Rice, James (27 October 2023). "Team GB kite foiler Ellie Aldridge on how she will handle Olympic pressure Team GB kite foiler Ellie Aldridge on how she will handle Olympic pressure". Buzz. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  13. ↑ "World Siling Confirms Formula Kite in Paris 2024". Surfer Today. 2019.
  14. ↑ Ingle, Sean (11 October 2023). "Stokes backed to inspire Team GB by going for gold at 2028 LA Olympics". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  15. ↑ "Fuerteventura Kite Foil International Open Cup". TheKiteMag. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  16. ↑ "Sailing's Lily Young confident after 2024 Formula Kite Europeans". Northwich Guardian. 29 March 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  17. ↑ "Poole sailor Ellie seals statement silver ahead of Olympics". Bournemouth Echo. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
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