Catching up with Daniela Moroz is always an upbeat and inspiring occasion. The effervescent 24-year-old Bay Area local recently raced the 2025 Formula Kite Foil Championship held in Cagliari, Italy securing yet another podium finish: this year a silver medal to add to her collection of six world titles. Lately, she’s taken up residence in Seal Beach, California, to be close to the proposed racecourses for the LA2028 Olympic Games…and to spend some time figuring out if another Olympic quad is in her future.
MS: You were unsure if you wanted to do another quad? What changed?
DM: The idea of having to go through such a significant weight gain process again wasn’t appealing, and I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to do all that work only for the final series to be kind of subjective at the end based on what happened last year (Ed note: reference to Moroz taking fourth in the 2024 Olympic Games after questionable umpiring calls in the medal race).
MS: What motivated you to sign up for the Worlds?
DM: I realized that I had nothing to lose and a lot to learn. After the Long Beach OCR (Olympic Classes Regatta) in July, I started to feel a spark and excitement to race again. I didn’t know where I’d be but I knew if I did the Worlds I needed to put some time in so I went to the UK for three weeks to train with the Brits prior to the event which was fun, we had a great group and it was really productive. We sailed in all kinds of conditions and I finally got time on new kites.
MS: Equipment is your friend in this game; talk about the new foil you are using.
DM: I got to Cagliari a week before racing in the Worlds started. I hadn’t received the new Chubanga carbon hydrofoil yet which was supposed to be way faster. I was definitely struggling with speed when I was training with the Brits who were on that foil. My racing felt really good but my speed felt off pace. I thought that once I got on the new foil I would be competitive with them at least. The priority for that first week in Italy was to make sure my board and foil were optimized to the new foil. It was tricky because the new foil is very different with way more lift. It was a lot of effort to make it work with my current board – most people would get new boards to go with the foil – it was a little bit stressful but we got it done.
MS: Did you notice a difference with the new foil?
DM: I felt really good once I started kiting on the new foil. My speed was solid and I felt excited to be racing again.
MS: How did it feel to be back on the racecourse in international competition?
DM: Racing in the Worlds started and I had some really good moments but I had only been kiting some 30 days since the end of the 2024 Olympics, mainly since OCR, so I was a bit rusty. I was third at one point in the qualifying series then in the last couple of days the conditions were really tough and I dropped down to 7th. Going into the quarter finals I needed to make top 2 in 2 races to make it to the finals. I won my first race then won my second race to move into the final. I was super stoked because that meant I could potentially be in the top 4.
What was your strategy?
DM: Going into the quarter finals there was nothing for me to lose. I felt really confident in the 4-boat short course style racing as I had trained with that type of racing a ton with the British team in our pre-Worlds training camp so my confidence in that format was really high. That day happened to be my favorite conditions – offshore, super windy and gusty and I was on an 11m kite. I was in my element and all I had to do was execute. After I won the quarter finals, that gave me a huge confidence boost for the semis and then again for the finals. I managed to keep the pressure on to end up tied with first going into the final race – that was super crazy!
MS: You finished 2nd with silver. How did that feel?
DM: For me, just to be there in Cagliari racing, enjoying the contest and the training was already such a huge personal success so to also have a result like that was cool. Jessie (Kampman/NED) was so fast and so consistent all week so I was really happy for her to win. To beat the gold (Eleanor Aldridge/GBR) and silver medalist (Lauriane Nolot/FRA) from the 2024 Olympics, and noting that the bronze medalist (Annelous Lammerts/NED) has retired from racing was the cherry on top.
MS: Would you agree that drawing on what you have learned from the past quad has been invaluable?
DM: A big thing for me is that I want to enjoy the process more, I want to trust myself more especially my own process because last quad I think I worked myself hard when it wasn’t always necessary. I wish I had taken more breaks; I traveled a ton. In this quad I want to travel less and spend more time at home in Seal Beach.
MS: How are you enjoying the benefits of living at Seal Beach?
DM: I love it here. Everything is nearby, Alamitos Bay Yacht Club which I joined, people to train with, the café where I go every morning with Nala my new puppy. Having that routine and home base is going to be important for me. I want to take time to do other things which I know will help me mentally and will also help with my kite foiling, like surf foiling which is mostly what I have been doing this year – it’s great cross-training. It is also nice to have made a group of friends and a community here outside of sailing – they don’t know anything about sailing!
MS: How does surf foiling help your kiting?
DM: With kiting you rely on the kite a lot for lift and to control the foil but in surf foiling you don’t have the kite so you really have to have good balance and board handling technique – when you are surfing all your weight is on the foil. It’s taught me a lot about board management skills which is helpful.
MS: Now you have a real job – how are you working that in your schedule?
DM: I didn’t want to finish the LA2028 Games only having been an athlete my whole life. This year when I knew I wouldn’t be training full-time was the perfect time to explore life outside of kiting and sailing. The job evolved naturally – it’s an amazing job – marketing for a tech start up – and it works with my schedule so nicely. The CEO is a kiter and very supportive of my goals, as is the whole management team, so it is working really well. I work part-time and remotely; I finish work around 2pm so I can train in the afternoon. It also gives me something else to focus on and challenge me in a totally different way – it works me mentally which I appreciate. It’s also nice having a paycheck coming in which helps pay my rent!
MS: What’s next?
DM: This winter I will be training in Mexico before Xmas and again in February when I’ll do a training camp there with some of the Brits. I’ll race the 2026 Princess Sofía Regatta at the end of March in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, then the Formula Kite World Championship in Portugal in May. I’ll skip Hyeres and spend the time at home in the gym to maintain my routine and consistency – it’s a priority – then I’ll join training camps with others whenever I can.
Follow Daniela and donate to her bid for LA 2028 at Danielamoroz.com/donate
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