The story of top female kitesurfer Rita Arnaus

Kitesurfer Rita Arnaus x Porsche

How one woman is following her dreams and inspiring others

May 29, 2024

Women sat in boot of Porsche Cayenne with kitesurfing equipment

For kitesurfing and Porsche athlete Rita Arnaus, the sea determines where she will be every day of the year. This is the story of how she followed her dream – and why she’s become an inspiration for women in her sport

For kitesurfer Rita Arnaus, the ocean gives her life. Calms her. Infuses her with energy. Kitesurfing is a sport that takes her to places where anything is possible. Once Rita is in the water, on her board and with the wind blowing strong, a force races through her body, launching her into the sky.

One of the very best in her sport, when she is surfing the waves she says it feels like nothing is impossible because she is driven by her dreams.

Small child on beach holding on to windsurfing equipment — The daughter of windsurfing champions, as a child future kitesurfing star Rita Arnaus was destined to follow her mum and dad onto the water Photo: Porsche

Rita Arnaus: the birth of a future kitesurfing star

Rita’s earliest memories consist of scents, sensations, images and stories. She remembers learning how to swim before she could even walk, how the waves lulled her to sleep and how the sea always made her feel at home. She remembers being a shy, withdrawn child, and finding it difficult to connect with other kids in her hometown of Barcelona, Spain. She couldn’t wait until the weekend when she’d ask her parents to take her to their beach house, 130km from Barcelona. That was where she felt free and empowered to do anything she wanted.

Watersports is deep in Rita’s DNA. Her father was one of Spain’s kitesurfing pioneers and he, along with Rita’s mother, were both windsurfing champions. It was only natural that she followed them into the ocean. At the age of 10 she was already practicing windsurfing and dinghy sailing. At 15 she decided to try kitesurfing and, just one year later, her passion already seemed to set her destiny in stone – to be one of the very best in the sport.

Female kitesurfer in the ocean, holding on to kitesurfing sail — After taking up windsurfing, her parents’ sport, at the age of 10, Rita Arnaus began kitesurfing aged 15 Photo: Porsche

Five years later, in 2015, Rita achieved her first kitesurfing championship in Spain at the age of 20. In 2017, she was already ranked number five in the world and, in 2019, she reached the finals in three world events. In 2022, she took the runner-up spot in the world championships in Brazil – her most important achievement to date.

What is freestyle kitesurfing?

Rita competes in freestyle events, perhaps one of the most demanding categories in the sport as it involves unhooking the kite from the harness and executing tricks in the air. To watch her live performance is like witnessing a graceful dance with the wind. Only those with great confidence, knowledge and skill can attempt such daring feats.

Kitesurfer soars in the sky above the sea — Rita has become one of the world’s top kitesurfers, including finishing runner-up in the 2022 world championships. A dream realised Photo: Porsche

“As a teenager, I really did dream of having a career as a dancer,” says Rita. “It was through dance that I learned to control my body movements. Giving up on my dance training was a difficult decision to make. But I combined the two things and now I dance with the wind.”

When the GKA Kite World Tour visited the Colombian surfers’ paradise of Salinas del Mar for the 2022 Freestyle World Cup event, Rita had what proved to be another life-changing moment. The location’s constant winds and desirable climate have made it something of a mecca for those who practice the sport. She would eventually finish third in the event but her appearance here would have added significance. Rita met several Latin American kite surfers in Salinas del Mar and her new dream was born – to inspire more girls and women to adopt kitesurfing as a way of life.

Female kitesurfer walks towards camera carrying kitesurfing equipment — Rita has proved to be an inspiration for women in the sport, according to kitesurfer, Adriana Espinoza: “Rita took a pioneering role for a lot of women who want to be a professional,” she says Photo: Porsche

How Rita Arnaus became an inspiration to women kitesurfers

“Rita is a woman with her own light that inspires all others to believe in this sport,” says Adriana Espinoza, a Venezuelan kitesurfer who has lived in Colombia for many years. “She has managed to stay at the top of the international competition by promoting kitesurfing at a very high level. She serves as the benchmark for many women who want to practice and excel in this sport at a professional level – not only in Latin America but around the world.”

But kitesurfing has its inherent dangers too – it's a sport that pits humans against the toughest of elements. In 2023, Rita headed to Fuwayrit in Qatar to compete in the finals of the GKA Kite World Tour. Each contestant had only eight attempts to perform a trick every 40 seconds while winds blasted across the sea at speeds between 22 and 28 knots. Unfortunately, while in pursuit of victory, Rita suffered a serious knee ligament injury.

She underwent a successful operation the following month, but it prevented her from mounting her board for the first time in nearly a decade of taking part in this elegant but challenging sport. But, as it is for so many top sportspeople, it’s in times like these that the true dreamers build mental fortitude. For Rita, that meant resisting the urge to venture into the ocean until her knee healed properly. Going through such an experience was, to her, a chance to come out of it the other side stronger than ever.

Female kitesurfer holds onto sail, Porsche Cayenne and ocean behind — Today, Rita is also among the group of top sportspeople known as Porsche athletes Photo: Porsche

Rita Arnaus: dreaming of kitesurfing glory at the Olympic Games

Rita is the definition of a dreamer. In the face of adversity, she sets high goals and soars high into the sky to achieve them. Now, as she looks – as she always will – to the future, Rita lights up at the idea of participating in the 2024 Olympic Games, where she hopes to qualify for a competition that will be held off the coast of Marseille in the south of France.

Whatever the future will bring, Rita – whose favourite Porsche car colour is Maritime Blue, of course – will no doubt continue to serve as an inspiration for all young people to dream in full colour.

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