Julia Damasiewicz
{{Short description|Polish kitesurfer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Julia Damasiewicz
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 22 October 2004
| birth_place =
| known_for = European champion kitesurfer
| education =
| employer =
| occupation =
| title =
| spouse =
| partner =
| children =
| parents =
| relatives =
| signature =
| website =
| footnotes =
| nationality = Polish
}}
Julia Damasiewicz (born 22 October 2004) is a Polish formula kitesurfer. She was the European champion in 2020.
Life
Damasiewicz was born in 2004.{{Cite web |title=Julia Damasiewicz |url=https://ozonekites.com/team/julia-damasiewicz/ |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=Ozone Kites |language=en-US}}
When she was sixteen she became the European Champion in 2020 in formula kite racing. The race was in at Puck in Poland and she drew ahead of the British kitesufer Ellie Aldridge in the final race. The winners wore COVID-19 facemasks on the Polish podium.{{Cite web |title=British riders snatch brace on return to action |url=https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/231011/British-riders-snatch-brace-on-return-to-action |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=www.yachtsandyachting.com}} In the following year Damasiewicz was the under-19 champion of the world.{{Cite web |last=Master |date=2021-09-24 |title=Julia Damasiewicz (POL) |url=https://www.openwaterchallenge.it/julia-damasiewicz-pol/ |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=Open Water Challenge Oristano |language=en-US}}
Damasiewicz was first supported by Ozone Kites. She was the runner-up in the 2021 Youth Sailing World Championships at Mussanah in Oman. The champion was Gal Zukerman of Israel{{Cite web |title=Sailwave results for 2021 Youth Sailing World Championships at Mussanah, Oman 2021 |url=https://www.sailing.org/uploads/youthworlds/2021yswcKiteboardingFemale.html |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=www.sailing.org}} and because of political differences it was reported that nobody's national anthem was played and the results were not published for a few days.{{Cite news |date=25 December 2021 |title=Israeli kiteboarder who won gold medal in Oman says organizers hushed up her win |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-kiteboarder-who-won-gold-medal-in-oman-says-organizers-hushed-her-win/ |access-date=18 July 2024 |work=Times of Israel}}
In 2022 she won the KiteFoil World Series at Traunsee in Austria. Ellie Aldridge took the silver medal and the American Daniela Moroz was third. It was a three-day competition but lack of wind meant that nearly all but one of the races took place on the final afternoon in light thermal winds on a freshwater lake in thirty degree temperatures.{{Cite web |title=2022 KiteFoil World Series Traunsee - Overall |url=https://www.sail-world.com/news/250512/KiteFoil-World-Series-Traunsee-overall |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=www.sail-world.com}} In the same year she went to The Hague in the Netherlands to compete in the World Youth Games. She won the event beating the French kitesufer Héloïse Pégourié{{Cite web |title=manage2sail.com |url=https://www.manage2sail.com/en-US/Home/ResultsFragment/event/a6bf5f87-acbb-493c-99e0-964914a9ee6c/regatta/dd1a0747-2736-4db5-a3bc-354c7b7a39db?styleName=ywch22#!/?classId=dd1a0747-2736-4db5-a3bc-354c7b7a39db |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=www.manage2sail.com}} and the Turkish kitefoiler Derin Atakan who came third.{{Cite web |date=2022-07-15 |title=Genç milli yelkencilerden Dünya Şampiyonası'nda birer gümüş ve bronz madalya |url=https://www.haberler.com/spor/genc-milli-yelkencilerden-dunya-sampiyonasi-nda-15078585-haberi/ |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=Haberler |language=tr}}
In November 2023 Damasiewicz was in Shenzhen in China taking part in the Formula Kite Asia & Oceania Championships. She took third place overall and she was the highest placed surfer who was under 21 years old. The championship was won by Jingyue Chen and Chen's fellow Chinese kitesurfer, Wan Li, took silver.{{Cite web |last=New |first=Gerald |date=2023-11-26 |title=Formula Kite Asia & Oceania Championships – Final day medal series |url=https://www.sailweb.co.uk/2023/11/26/formula-kite-asia-oceania-championships-final-day-medal-series/ |access-date=2024-07-13 |language=en-GB}}
The last five of the 20 places for women kitefoilers at the Olympics were awarded at the Last Chance Regatta in April 2024 to the Austrian Surfer Alina Kornelli, the Swiss surfer Elena Lengwiler, the Turkish Derin Atakan, Mafalda Pires de Lima of Portugal and Damasiewicz.{{Cite journal |date=12 January 2024 |title=Formula Kite: the 40 qualified athletes for Paris 2024 |url=https://www.surfertoday.com/kiteboarding/the-formula-kite-road-to-the-paris-2024-olympic-games |journal=Surfer Today}}
In 2024 she finished seventh at the Formula Kite Worlds at Hyères in France. She was the highest placed woman under 21 at the event.{{Cite web |last=Sailweb |date=2024-05-16 |title=Formula Kite Worlds – Aldridge keeps up the pressure |url=https://www.sailweb.co.uk/2024/05/16/formula-kite-worlds-aldridge-keeps-up-the-pressure/ |access-date=2024-07-13 |language=en-GB}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Damasiewicz, Julia}}
Category:21st-century Polish sportswomen