The magnificent lady of windsurfing: 36 years old, windsurfing professional for 14 years, 27-times world champion, one of the most successful windsurfers in the world and now also working as a manager.

A few days ago, Karin Jaggi had to hand down her 500 meter supreme discipline world record to kiteboarder Sjoukje Bredenkamp. This makes no difference however, as Karin Jaggi loves the challenge. It encourages the world champion even more to improve her own record of 76 km/h and thus gain back the title.

Karin Jaggi’s opinion about herself is that she is an adrenaline-junkie. “The more straining and risky the situation, the more interesting it appears to me”, she says. The fact that the water is as hard as concrete if hit at such speeds does cross the mind of the 36 year old Swiss once in a while. Yet, these thoughts are pushed aside; she is of the absolute competitive type. At the end of this week she was presented with her 27^th world championship cup by the PWA (Professional Windsurfers Association) in Sylt, once again in the slalom racing discipline.

It is not just speed that distinguishes Karin Jaggi from others, however. On international level, she counts to one of the most successful and experienced windsurfers. She has always done her homework well and is now in the middle of a very remarkable career. She obtained her business degree via distance learning in order to participate in the professional windsurfer tour. Apparently, she gained her 27 world championship titles along the way during the different racing series of the international professional windsurfing sport. Since July, she also manages the interests of the F2 trademark and is spokeswoman for her sport, representing especially the interests of women in the windsurfing sport during the international Pro-Tour (PWA).

Karin does not consider quitting the sport anytime soon. Windsurfing is her life and she cannot imagine anything that could top it. But it was not always easy for her as a woman in a male domain. Today she has a strong, incredible stand in this sport and radiates contentment.

World of Windsurfing (WOW) e.V.:

Who is Karin Jaggi? Tell us about yourself. What kind of person are you?

Karin Jaggi (KJ):

I am more of the quiet type.  Besides that, I am goal oriented and very persistent.  I don’t completely follow the attitude “where there is a will, there is a way” because I believe nothing can be taken for granted, but that you have to earn your own living.  Furthermore, I am an adrenaline-junkie and of the competitive type: the more straining and risky the situation, the more interesting it appears to me.

WOW:

You are the fastest female windsurfer in the world.  How does it feel to speed with over 76 km/h across the water surface?

KJ:

When surfing at record speed, everything feels easy, fluently and not at all fast as one may think. Because when you do such a record, everything has to be right from the beginning on.  The sprints before and after that, where my time measurements were slower, actually felt way more extreme.  If you don’t have a hundred percent control, you often do think about the fact that the water is as hard as concrete if hit at such a speed; the wind appears to have an infinite degree of gust and you just fight against it..

WOW:

Windsurfing is still a men’s domain, although more women are starting to make a name for themselves within the sport.  How were you able to assert yourself so well over all these years?

KJ:

When I first started, all the positions for women were filled - which means there were always 32 women in starting positions.  Then everything became more complicated from the financial perspective and it was harder to go on tour- it was women that were first in line with this issue.  They lost their sponsors and thus their enthusiasm to sustain in such a male domain.  Now, the men are suffering with the financial dilemma just like the women and so everything in this sport is in a semi-balance again.  Those that go on tour these days definitely don’t do it for the sake of the money, but because windsurfing is their life and because the PWA world tour has been their dream since early childhood.  This has always been my priority and this is exactly the reason why I am still participating to this day.  I guess I just survived for so long on this tour because I really am a very competitive person.  Also, because I have found so many good friends in the windsurfing sport.

WOW:

Do you have any role models?

KJ:

Not really. I never really looked up to anybody or admired anyone.  This is completely inapprehensible to me, even if it’s about a pop star or something similar.  They are all just people and often times they are very different from what we imagine them to be.   But I have always respected those that have really accomplished something in their life.

WOW:

How was it when you decided to start a professional career as a windsurfer? How did that come about? Did you have doubts once in a while?

KJ:

As a child, I used to compete in a lot of sport activities. It was only at the age of 17 that I discovered windsurfing: it was love at first sight.  From then on I wanted to do nothing else and to me it was always obvious that I would pursue windsurfing on a competitive level.  I never doubted myself for a minute, and the thought of not being able to do it never crossed my mind either; everybody else (especially the Swiss media) did though.  All in all, I really only made it because of the support my friends gave to me during this time.  Thomi Keusch from Spinout (a school in South France to this day) showed me a lot, accompanied me to my first regattas and also helped me financially by employing me in his own station. Some windsurfing-enthusiasts from Magglingen (our official sports school in Switzerland) supported me to an optimum degree: fitness exercise, medical counsel, as well as mental training.  Everything which probably no other professional windsurfer had.

WOW:

Making a living just from windsurfing is probably not easy, or?  What are the positive aspects of being a professional windsurfer to you?

KJ:

Positive is definitely the right spirit in this scene.  You can only survive as a group and this is why we stick together.  Windsurfing is a small form of sport without big financial aid; for me, this is exactly the nice thing about it: Windsurfers hold together, live together for their sport and help each other.  For that I was able to collect 27 world championship titles and I am still somewhat anonymous on the street.  Personally for me, this is a great advantage.