July 22, 2024
4 minutes reading time
The Hague, The Netherlands is hosting the 2023 Allianz Sailing World Championships from 11th to 20th August 2023. More than 1200 sailors from 80 nations are racing across ten Olympic sailing disciplines. Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition places will be awarded as well as 10 World Championship medals
Credit: Sailing Energy / World Sailing. 19 August 2023.
Toni Vodisek: ‘I want to win Olympic gold, for me and my father’
Slovenian men’s kite star Toni Vodisek has kiting in his DNA and is ready to live out a joint family dream by making his Olympic debut at Paris 2024.
First getting into the sport at the age of six, Vodisek was inspired to greatness by his father, Rajko, a high-performing kitesurfer who similarly had aspirations of competing at an Olympic Games.
After close to two decades of coaching from his dad, Vodisek will now look to reach the mountain top this summer, going for gold in Marseille.
A journey fuelled by a genetic passion for kiting, Paris 2024 will act as a defining moment for the entire Vodisek bloodline, etching his family name into the Olympic tapestry after generations of trying.
Here’s how Vodisek reached his sporting pinnacle, looking at the highs and lows he experienced on the way.
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Passing of the torch
As his father set his sights on London 2012, Vodisek was first getting into competition, participating in several events in the freestyle discipline from age nine.
However, when injury derailed his dad’s Olympic push, the torch was passed down to Vodisek to finish his family’s kiting story.
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“I have been kiting all my life,” he said. “My father was a kiter and he competed when kiting almost became an Olympic sport in 2012.
“He would have probably gone, then he hurt his back and couldn’t continue. The equipment was in the garage and he said, ‘now you do it’.
“My dad is still with me today, he is my coach. Me and my dad put everything together.”
Early success
With the goal of reaching the heights that his father could not, Vodisek committed his life to water sports – something that was reflected by his dominance at youth level.
He was a three-time youth world champion, claiming the crown on successive occasions in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
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Then, after graduating onto the senior scene in 2019, he immediately bagged three World Series titles in his first year.
Achieving incredible success early in his career, Vodisek was delighted to show his father that all his training and support was paying off.
“I was doing it for a long time, I was youth world champion three times,” he added.
“It was a really nice experience to do it with the support of my dad, financially and as a coach. It was incredible. I preferred to be out on the beach than in school, I just had to be moving.
“In 2019, the year before kiting went Olympic, I won three senior World Cups. That was a big deal.”
Overcoming injury
As 2020 rolled around, adversity struck for Vodisek. Suffering a shoulder injury blow, he was forced to spend time away from the sport he loved, which threatened to stunt his momentum.
This only caused his desire for kiting success to burn even brighter, with absence from the water making him certain of pursuing a career in elite sports.
Hellbent on returning from injury with a bang, Vodisek refused to let any more obstacles trip him up, showing no rust to claim European and World Championship glory in 2022.
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He said: “Unfortunately I got injured so I had to stop for a little bit, but I came back as kiting was becoming Olympic and I thought, ‘this is what I want to do, this is much nicer than a nine-to-five’. In short it was a no-brainer.
“In 2022, I was fully recovered from my shoulder injury but earlier that year I tore ligaments in my knee. I was too scared to tell anybody, and I just worked so much harder because I didn’t want to make excuses.
“I saw that putting in so much work paid off and I became world and European champion that year.
“I would never expect to be world champion, but it was definitely on the table, and I was doing everything in my power to do so.
“It felt nice, that all the hard work paid off. The biggest thing was that I was keener than ever with the Olympics two years away.”
Olympic aspirations
Vodisek is now turning all attention to Marseille, where he will be aiming to accomplish his greatest sporting dream by bagging gold at the Olympic Games.
His last 12 months have not been perfect, failing to retain his World Championship crown after finishing as runner-up – a commendable outcome regardless.
However, he knows that given his track record, he has more than what it takes to beat the best and be the best.
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“Last year was maybe a little bit of a letdown finishing second, but it was still very good,” Vodisek said. “The year was not so good, I had some equipment issues, my foil was broken but I was only able to replace it before the final day.
“There are many other guys who are all going for this who are all really good. The best one will be known soon.”