A hobby that made her a champion
Lauriane Nolot started out with a passion for horse riding. Then her father and brother started kiteboarding on the Var coast. At the age of 16, Lauriane began to follow them in their sessions. That's when it all clicked. She soon wanted to go beyond the family hobby.
She joined Ariane Imbert's training center, where she developed a taste for competition. In 2021, following the health crisis and the confirmation of kitefoil as one of the new Olympic disciplines for 2024, she threw herself into the adventure and joined her first Olympic preparation.
At just 25, an impressive track record
With rigor and a smile, Lauriane transformed her beach hobby into a top-level sport. She soon became a professional rider, ranking among the fastest on the planet.
In 2021, she became French champion, then European vice-champion in Montpellier, and won the bronze medal at the kitefoil world championship in Torregrande, Sardinia. These performances earned her a place on the French kitesurfing team alongside Théo de Ramecourt and Axel Mazella.
The following year, she won the 2022 European Championship in Greece, then took the runner-up title at the 2022 World Championship in Sardinia, beating six-time world champion Daniela Moroz of the USA.
In 2023, after a winter of intense training, she dominated all the competitions she entered, winning the Princesa-Sofia World Cup in Palma and the French Olympic Week in Hyères, as well as the Test Event in Marseille, a dress rehearsal for the Olympic Games. Just two weeks after her Test Event victory, she became world champion at the World Sailing Federation's World Championships in The Hague. It was the first time in the history of women's kiteboarding that an athlete other than Daniela Moroz had won this title.
She also won the silver medal in Formula Kite at the 2023 Mediterranean Beach Games in Heraklion.
In November 2023, she was nominated by World Sailing for the Rolex Sailor of the Year award. She didn't win it, but she did win the coveted title of Sailor of the Year 2023, an award often won by French ocean racers.
Joint training with Axel Mazella
2024 marks the first time that kitefoil has been designated as an Olympic series. To win, it was necessary to federate quickly and unite the talents of the various athletes to raise the level of this young discipline.
A team the sportswoman is delighted with: "I'm super happy to be part of the French team, there's a great atmosphere, we all pull each other towards the highest level. I'm particularly happy to be sharing these Olympic Games with Axel, but I also have a big thought for Jessie Kampman and Poema Newland, who did an exceptional job, and thanks to whom I'm so strong today".
And how do you deal with the status of favorite when it's your first Olympics?
" As far as physical preparation and training are concerned, I'm not going to change much. I'm sticking to the same daily routine that has enabled me to win several titles. It's mainly with my mental trainer that I'm going to start working again, to learn how to manage this status and the many demands placed on me. I'm still very confident, though, and having the games close to home also brings an added confidence bonus."
Runner form :
- Date of birth: 09/12/1998
- Club: HKA (83)
- Place of residence: Hyères (83)
- Supported by Banque Populaire Méditerranée
- Sailor of the Year 2023
- Army of champions - space air force
