Gisela Pulido is a champion in every sense, with six years already under her belt as World Champion and now fighting for her seventh title. At just 7 years old, she first stepped onto a kiteboarding board and hasn’t stepped off since, becoming one of Spain’s most iconic athletes.
At 10, she won her first title and is now battling for the seventh in her collection, with three stages left to close the year: Argentina, New Caledonia, and Australia. The World Championship, held across various spots, features top kitesurfers, including Gisela. She currently leads in both wave and freestyle disciplines, promising strong results.
One of her latest feats involved racing the FRS Ferry linking Tarifa to Tangier—a vessel she’s watched for years while living and training in Tarifa’s waters. This is one of Spain’s fastest ferries, boasting 40,000 horsepower. Without hesitation, she navigated alongside it for the 28 km separating the two countries, joining the few who’ve achieved this.
The race had one of the closest finishes imaginable: the ferry averages 30 minutes for the journey and reaches 42 knots. Pulido’s advantage? The ferry’s mandatory speed reduction when entering and exiting the port, plus her ability to take a shorter route. Still, it wasn’t easy—shifting winds made the trek gruelling.
The young Catalan has fulfilled a dream. Her days of rigorous training in Tarifa’s waters have always been shadowed by this ferry. For her, it was a monumental challenge: "One I’ve always envisioned—not just for the physical difficulty of covering such distance with a kite, but for the poetic meaning of uniting two continents on this route."
Kitesurfing is one of the most demanding water sports, requiring intense training to master the kite, water, and wind. But for Gisela Pulido, it’s deeply rewarding, offering freedom as she hones manoeuvres that keep her atop the podium.
The kitesurfer also holds Spain’s national title and is so skilled she became the youngest athlete ever nominated for the Laureus World Sports Awards in extreme sports. Her accolades include a Guinness World Record as the youngest world champion and honours at Marca’s 70th Anniversary Gala.
If you want to learn kitesurfing, don’t hesitate—it’s thrilling, and who knows? You might just meet Gisela at a competition someday...
