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<\/p>\nIn her 12 years of kitesurfing, Lison Mage has never experienced anything like her recent brush with death.<\/p>\n
While preparing to launch off a Gold Coast beach last month, she felt overpowered by her kite as it began dragging her away from the water.<\/p>\n
“I think my brain went into freeze mode,” she said.<\/p>\n
“I didn’t know what I was doing because I was under shock.<\/p>\n
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Lison Mage broke her spine, ankle and toes after being thrown more than 10 metres from the beach onto land. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
“A gust of wind propelled me and then next thing, I’m above the trees.”<\/p>\n
She said using the quick release, a crucial safety measure in kitesurfing emergencies, might have averted what came next, but the panic and pace of the moment overcame her.<\/p>\n
“The line of the kite went through the trees and I was getting [pulled in] and that’s where I did the release,” Ms Mage said.<\/p>\n
“Then I saw the ground and in my mind I said, ‘I am dead.'”<\/p>\n
Ms Mage landed on the road after she was thrown more than 10 metres in the air.<\/p>\n
She sustained a burst spinal fracture: a severe injury in which the vertebra crushes in multiple directions, as well as a broken ankle and toes, and impact to the chest.<\/p>\n
Ms Mage believes she could have been paralysed if not for her helmet, impact vest and strong harness.<\/p>\n
Wind considerations non-negotiable<\/p>\n
Australia has had at least five deaths in kitesurfing since 2003, with almost all involving an impact with a structure or object after a wind gust.<\/p>\n
Gold Coast-based former competitive kitesurfer Anna Williams said the sport came with two key dangers.<\/p>\n
“Inconsistent wind can get really dangerous and nasty,” she said.<\/p>\n
“And also launching. I think launching is the most dangerous part of the sport.”<\/p>\n
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Lison Mage has kitesurfed in Australia, Fiji and Europe for more than a decade and done more than 250 skydives. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
Gusts are more likely when wind travels from land to sea, conditions Ms Williams said were best avoided.<\/p>\n
Onshore winds on the other hand, while generally safe, can push the rider towards physical hazards along the beach if they don’t have full control of the kite.<\/p>\n
Ms Williams said safety came down to experience level and choosing an angle of the beach that worked well with the wind direction.<\/p>\n
Ms Mage said wrongly evaluating the wind proved perilous in her case.<\/p>\n
“Kitesurfing is safe when done right,” she said.<\/p>\n
“It seems like I made a bad judgement call on that day that put me in a very tricky situation.”<\/p>\n
Research shows<\/a> most serious kitesurfing accidents resulted from being blown away by wind and hitting solid objects, falls from height, and being unable to break free from the kite.<\/p>\n Injury risk low but impact high<\/p>\n Kitesurfing is widely considered an extreme sport but the numbers suggest the risk of injury or dying is low.<\/p>\n Findings from a survey of more than 3,000 people<\/a> in January found an injury rate of 4.8 per 1,000 hours of kitesurfing, in line with the average injury rate of contact sports.<\/p>\n It found the most common kitesurfing injuries were cuts and grazes, followed by damage to the rib, knee ligaments, lower extremities and head.<\/p>\n However, it showed a risk of polytrauma, a “rare but devastating” kitesurfing injury where a person suffers multiple traumatic injuries to body parts and organs.<\/p>\n Kiteboarding made its Olympic debut at Paris in 2024 in the sailing category. (AP: Daniel Cole)<\/p>\n It is what Ms Mage was diagnosed with.<\/p>\n “The likelihood of risk is quite low, but the consequence is high, as you can see,” she said.<\/p>\n The study found the risk of injury significantly decreased with experience, but Ms Mage’s accident shows even advanced kite surfers are vulnerable.<\/p>\n Some ‘compounding’ factors<\/p>\n Kitesurfing has rapidly grown in the past two decades, with an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people now in the sport worldwide.<\/p>\n
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