On Sunday 8 December 2024, Francesca Maini (CY 2015-20) was crowned Red Bull's King of the Air 2024 in the first ever Women's Division for her kiteboarding performance in Cape Town, South Africa. The Red Bull King of the Air competition is described as the ‘craziest and most progressive kiteboard contest in the world’ and sees the world’s top kitesurfers compete for the title.

Francesca scored high marks for her Kite Loop Board Off, Boogieloop and Contra Loop Front Roll, and stunned the judges with her technical skill and creativity.

On Instagram, Maini said:

 'It was so amazing to be a part of this event, even though we didn’t get the super strong wind we dreamt of we still managed to put on a show. Having a women division in this event is a huge step in women’s kiteboarding and I hope we managed to inspire more girls to be part of the sport.'

Well done, Francesca!