Boracay's Own Takes the Podium

The sport of kiteboarding debuts at the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand and on the first podium was Warner Janoya, from Boracay.

After suffering a massive injury February this year, Warner Janoya achieved a triumphant comeback with a podium win at the 33rd SEA Games in Pattaya, Thailand.

Warner Janoya, 24, was raised on the shores of Bulabog Beach. Born to a Filipino mother and a German father, he is one of the grassroots athletes in Philippine kiteboarding, alongside 2018 Youth Olympic silver medalist Christian Tio.

The establishment of the Philippine Kiteboarding Association (PKA) has played a significant role in the grassroots program, producing national athletes like Warner. He began training at the age of 12 under Ken Nacor and other various kiteboarding coaches.

As a national athlete for kiteboarding since 2016, Janoya has consistently finished on the podium in the annual Philippine Kiteboarding Tour across almost all categories, including freestyle, hangtime, twin-tip racing, and foil racing.The new sailing event at the SEA Games, Formula Kite Racing, is a high-performance, Olympic-level hydrofoil kitesurfing discipline where athletes race on specialized boards with hydrofoils, using powerful foil kites to fly above the water, emphasizing speed, strategy, and skill in varying wind conditions, governed by rules from the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) and World Sailing.

Team managers Jay Ortiz and Ming Juan, and the coaching team, Stefan Vance and Doque Delos Santos, couldn’t be prouder.