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She was born in England, moved to France at four and grew up racing 420 dinghies. She found kitesurfing while studying law in Southampton, and moved to kitefoil because it was going to the Olympics.
Basically trying to play a game of chess while going at 70 kilometres per hour on the water.
The adrenaline is definitely there. Just on the edge, trying to keep the whole system under control without exploding and ventilating and crashing.
In August 2023, in the middle of a Paris campaign she would not be selected for, that stopped.
I had a really severe crash in August 2023. It broke my ankle, my fibula, my collarbone and one of my vertebrae as well. I was in hospital for two and a half months, and I then spent three months in an athlete rehab centre.
She came back to a season she did not want. France had one Olympic place and it went to someone else. She stopped training, spent a summer doing every other sport, worked three months in a hardware shop, and had the surgical screws taken out of her ankle in January 2025.
I think I've always had a spark in me. Being burnt out and my accident almost dimmed that light that I had towards the sport. But I knew that if I could put myself in the right environment and surround myself by the right people, that it would only brighten and become stronger.
In July 2025 she switched to Team Allianz of the Dutch federation. Her first race under the Dutch flag was Long Beach, California. She won it. Three months later she took the world title in Sardinia.
Everyone is just great in the federation and really helpful. They've understood quite well that to do well you actually need to be happy, and that both go hand in hand.
There's a lot of experts that are involved in my campaign. I think that's really important to have when you're chasing something as big as the Olympics.
She took world silver in Portugal in 2026. The next Olympic regatta is in Long Beach, where she has already raced and won. At the Games each country sends one kitefoiler.
I can really feel that fire burning in me again, and I don't think there's any amount of water that can put it out.
Jessie Kampman - 16 May 2000 - representing TeamNL
