Sean Reyngoudt is a Swiss-born professional kiteboarder from the Florida Keys.
Sean Reyngoudt suffered a forklift accident in 2003 and became a left below the knee amputee. After his recovery, he delved into kiteboarding – a physically demanding water sport that harnesses the power of the wind with a large controllable kite to propel the kiteboarder on the water and in the air. In 2006, Sean began competing professionally in the Extremity Games, where he won every competition he entered for seven years. Sean has even competed against non-amputees, winning first place in the 2009 “60 Mile Downwinder” from Cocoa Beach to Vero Beach in record time.
Sean feels it is important to inspire other amputees to not give up on their dreams. After his amputation, he researched for other athlete amputees for inspiration, but found that there weren’t many. In the last decade, prosthetics technology has improved immensely, allowing amputees to compete in more demanding sports. “One of the reasons I started seeing Adam for my leg was because he understood how to make an adaptive leg for a unique sport like kiteboarding.”
In the last five years, Sean has taken on a new challenge – surfing. which has not been easy. “I have had to switch my stance from what I’m used to with kiteboarding and wakeboarding, so it’s been a challenge. I never surfed before my amputation,” he explains. His goal is to complete in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, when surfing will officially make its debut as a competitive Olympic sport.
“It’s important for me to inspire other people to not give up on their dreams just because they’ve lost a limb.”
Sean in the News
Florida Keys – From Tragedy to Terrific
OandP.com – Sean Reyngoudt Takes to the Skies
CNN – Missing leg no problem for kiteboarder
Xtreme Sport 4 U – Sean Reyngoudt – an amputee who makes kitesurfing look easy