Some may find it difficult to keep up with Maria Catalina Turienzo’s rapid rise – her Formula Kite exploits will soon make her NextGen status redundant.
The 18-year-old kiteboarding ace is the future and present of Argentina’s Olympic sailing squad, embarking on her debut Games at Paris 2024 in Marseille.
The Monte Hermoso native knows how important her youth career has been to shaping her exponential trajectory as a rider. And, after four years of knocking on the Youth Sailing World Championships door, Argentina’s kiting hotshot clinched gold at her final opportunity.
“It feels amazing,” Turienzo said. “I’ve been working a lot for this, it’s my last Youth Sailing World Championships so I’m very happy.
“I always kited, I started when I was five years old and started competing in 2021
“I began with this class just for the Olympics with that in mind – it’s crazy to think I am here now, it was always a childhood dream.”
It was back-to-back world titles for Turienzo, who found success at the Formula Kite Youth World Championships with gold in Gizzeria, Italy just a week prior to another showdown on Lake Garda.
Fellow Olympian and 2023 youth world champion Derin Atakan of Türkiye placed second and Turienzo insists the event provided the perfect preparation for the healthily competitive pair before they head to Marseille.
“This was really good training for the Olympics,” she said. “It was always the plan to go to the U21 and U19 worlds before.
“It’s been great to train in regatta mode so I’m so happy to see everything is going alright and we are strong and ready.
“Derin is also going to the Olympics so it was good for us to be there, Garda is wonderful, the lake and the wind was perfect, it was an amazing event.
“Me and Derin are really good friends, we have been together for four years now all through youths so we are always battling with the water but we are friends on the shore.”
The youngster has been holding her own in the senior fleets for some time, securing her Olympic qualification at the Pan American Games Santiago 2023 in November.
Turienzo finished second only to American Daniela Moroz and knows she is in control of her own destiny in the south of France.
The magical feeling of kiting on waters across the globe never gets old for Argentina’s Formula Kite hopeful, who always had a clear goal of competing at the Games ever since the class became part of the Olympic program ahead of 2024.
“It’s super exciting,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to it.
“I started with this class just for the Olympics with that in mind. It’s crazy to think I am here now, it was always a childhood dream.
“For the opening ceremony, I think it’s going to be a unique experience so I’m really happy I got the call up for my country.
“I will try to represent it in the best way that I can.”
