Lafayette's Daniela Moroz, a six-time kite racing world champion who grew up sailing in the Bay, is ready to fly at her first Olympics.
"It means I'm competing for something bigger than myself," the 23-year-old Moroz said.
She started racing as a teenager at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, but she was competing unofficially before she was even born.
"In 2000, when my mom was pregnant with me, she did this race and she was one of only eight windsurfers to finish," Moroz said. "I don't like to take the full credit, but my tactics were pretty good that day. I knew where to go on the race course. It's definitely in my DNA."
Kite surfing will be the fastest sport at the Paris Olympics.
"Kite surfing, you're on a board that's kind of like a surfboard or a wakeboard, but it's flying above the water on a hydrofoil," Moroz said. "There's a big kite that's attached to you, and you're basically using the power of the kite to propel yourself across the water."
Sailing in the Bay isn’t for the faint of heart. With strong winds and frigid water, conditions can be unpredictable.
"In the sailing world we just say if you can sail here, you can kind of sail anywhere because it's such a difficult place to sail," Moroz said. "We have so many variables. You just kind of learn over time that you can only control what you can control."
While she can’t control the weather, Moroz said she has learned how to maintain her mental health.
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"I meet with a sports psychologist every week to just practice some exercises and go through some skills that I can do that can help me manage the pressure," she said. "It's really important to embrace all of those ups and downs because the highs are great, but the lows are still taking you one step closer to where you want to go."
Moroz is also a fan of embracing nature’s beauty before a regatta.
"Anytime I see wildlife on the water, whether it's dolphins or whales or turtles or even birds or whatever it is, I'll always salute them because you got to respect the locals," she said.
As for Paris, Moroz will be looking forward to the Opening Ceremony along the Seine River and joining the French sailing scene.
"They love wind sports and they love the water, they love sailing," she said. "I think we're excited to be in a country that loves sailing so much."
