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Jenna Gibson faces a race against time to be fit to defend her windsurfing world crown.
Having had appendicitis just a month ago, Gibson is bidding to be fit in time to defend her world title in France at the end of June.
The former Folkestone School for Girls pupil said: “I’ve had quite a lot of complications with my surgery so I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to make the World Championships yet.
“At the minute I still can’t get my wound wet which is a bit of an issue, but I’m feeling good now so I’m just waiting to hear what the doctor has to say.
“After a month off I’m definitely raring to go. This is the longest I’ve been without windsurfing since I first started.”
Gibson was crowned UK Windsurfing Association’s Windsurfer of the Year for 2018/19.
The Duotone rider was victorious at the International Funboard Class Association Slalom Windsurfing World Championships at the age of just 21 in Denmark back in September.
An outstanding year also saw her finish sixth in the Professional Windsurfing Association’s women’s slalom fleet – as well as being the fastest lady at Weymouth Speed Week.
Gibson said: “It’s amazing, it was down to a public vote so it felt really good that everybody believed in me.
“It was a huge year for me, I was lucky enough to be able to do all the events and compete on the whole tour so to come out with the results I did was really amazing and I had so much fun doing it.
“I definitely wasn’t going into the World Championships with any goals like that so it was unbelievable.”
With her parents having been avid windsurfers, a route into the sport naturally opened for Gibson, although it wasn’t until her return to England that she began to get out on the water.
She added: “Both of my parents windsurfed. I only started when I was about 12 or 13, we lived in Belgium for a little while where we were landlocked for a while so it didn’t really start until we moved back to England.”
Her rise through the ranks has entailed opportunities to explore new countries while doing what she loves.
Gibson added: “I’ve visited some places windsurfing I never thought I would have visited.
“It takes you to great locations and windsurfers have got such a great community. You’re going to compete, which can be nerve-wracking, but everybody helps each other out.”
A standout trait to the 2018 world champion is her desire to continue building on her success, which has been motivated further by the current situation that sees male and female windsurfers compete alongside each other.
“I’m definitely always pushing myself because in the UK I compete against the men,” she said.
“I’m the top lady but that isn’t enough for me. I really want to push myself against the men as well, so that’s something that will keep me trying to improve for a long time.
“The reason we are with the men is that the numbers are so low which is a real shame.
“We have about seven regular women on the tour out of about 60 so we’re down on numbers, but the ones we have are very good and motivated.”
