Bruno Sroka (born 9 June 1976) is a French kitesurfer. Born in

Clamart Clamart () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. The town is divided into two parts, separated by a forest: ''bas Clamart'', the historical centre, and ''petit Clamart'' with urbaniz ...

, Sroka began

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

when he was two years old. In 1998, Sroka arrived in

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress *Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria *Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France **Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Brest, ...

and took up kitesurfing, intrigued by the new sport. He had a successful career and went on to achieve many titles, becoming a three-time World Cup champion. Sroka also broke several milestones in the sport: he became the first to kitesurf the

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...

in 2008 and from France to Ireland in 2013.

Biography

Bruno Sroka was born in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

on 9 June 1976 to Edouard and Monique Sroka. His childhood idol was the French windsurfer . Sroka's family is passionate about sports. Sroka began windsurfing when he was two years old, on the

French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...

, under the supervision of his parents and older brother Christophe. As a child, he sailed near Courseulles-sur-Mer and developed his windsurfing technique. Sroka obtained a (CAPEPS) () with his sixth attempt, enabling him to teach swimming and sailing. He arrived in

in 1998 to finish his studies. While he was there, Sroka was intrigued by the new sport of kitesurfing and took it up the same year. He also began working at the sports shop where , a pioneer of kitesurfing in France, stores his equipment. He was one of the few competitive kitesurfers from Brest in 1999. In 2001 and 2002, Sroka finished second for France in freestyle. He also won second place in the 2004 Kiteboard Pro World Tour (''monde vagues''). He was a speed crossing French champion in 2005, 2006, 2007 and also in 2005 he obtained his Master diploma from Brest University, Bretagne. In 2007 Sroka won three kitesurfing titles of the year: French Champion, European Champion and World Champion. In 2009 he was one of the two competitors that won both the PKRA and KPWT tours and became a winner of IKA World Cup ranking. In 2010 Sroka carried on with the IKA World Cup title and finished 3rd in the World Championship in addition to the European Championship and European Cup. In 2011 he won third place in the World Slalom Championship (Murcia, Spain) and placed third in the European Championship in course racing in Sopot, Poland.

Non-competitive milestones

On 7 April 2008, Sroka became the first to kitesurf the

. He kited for over nine hours non-stop. On 17 May 2012, Sroka claimed the record for the fastest time to kitesurf the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, in 4 hours and 45 minutes. On 19 July 2013, Sroka became the first person to kitesurf from France to Ireland. He completed the in 16 hours and 37 minutes, starting from the Penn Enez beach in

Aber Wrac'h The Aber Wrac'h is a small village and port located on the river Wrac'h in the commune of Landéda in the department of Finistère in France, located in Brittany. The Wrac'h's source is in Trémaouézan. It travels through Ploudaniel, Le Folg ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, and ending in Crosshaven, Cork Harbour. Sroka planned to kitesurf the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

in 2014 and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

in 2015.

Advocacy

In January 2009, Sroka crossed the Gulf of Aqaba with a blue dove on his sail a day after the Gaza War ceasefires. In May 2011, Sroka showed his support for Hervé Ghesquière and Stéphane Taponier, two French journalists held hostage in Afghanistan, by kitsurfing the

Pointe du Raz The Pointe du Raz is a promontory that extends into the Atlantic from western Brittany, in France. The local Breton name is ''Beg ar Raz''. It is the western point of the ''commune'' of Plogoff, Finistère. It is named after the ''Raz de Sein'', ...

with their portraits attached to his sail. It marked five hundred days of their captivity. Bruno Sroka has been active in different organizations and foundations, he's been open in giving his voice for cleaner and safer planet. He is an ambassador for the " Peace and Sport", Green Cross and UNSS (union national du sport scolaire) foundations.

Personal life

Sroka has been in a relationship with a Lithuanian woman named Deimantina Juskeviciute since 2010.

References

External links

Official siteInternational kiteboarding association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sroka, Bruno 1976 births Living people French kitesurfers Sportspeople from Paris Male kitesurfers