Kiwi windsurfing dynasty continues as Aimee Bright wins junior world title
Aimee Bright has won the iQFOiL Under-23 World Championship in Poland, continuing her family's legacy of elite windsurfing success. Bright secured the title after a competitive final race, drawing on her experience and family background.
Why it matters
It highlights the success of young athletes and the continuation of multi-generational sporting excellence within a prominent family.
Aimee Bright has been crowned iQFOiL Under-23 World Champion after a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the grand final at Puck, Poland.
Bright's mother, Barbara Kendall, competed at five Olympic Games between 1992 and 2008, winning gold in sailboarding in Barcelona in 1992, silver in Atlanta in 1996 and bronze at Sydney 2000.
Her uncle, Olympic legend Bruce Kendall, also enjoyed a stellar career, winning bronze at the 1984 Los Angeles Games before claiming gold at Seoul in 1988.
Bright, who sails out of the Manly Sailing Club at Whangaparaoa near Auckland, dominated the world junior regatta from the outset, winning 11 of the 20 qualifying course and slalom races to earn a direct spot in the winner-take-all final.
But the final was anything but straightforward, with the up-and-coming Bright drawing on her sporting pedigree to navigate some tense moments.
An ecstatic Aimee Bright celebrates with coach Paul Snow-Hansen.
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