Seeing the bright lights of the Eiffel Tower for the first time is a special experience. For Markus Edegran ‘11, it was the magical beginning of his journey as an Olympic athlete competing in the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.
“It felt surreal,” Markus said, “It felt like every apartment window and bridge was packed with people cheering for us as we crossed the river. We were one of the final countries going in front of the Eiffel Tower, and the sun had just set. Seeing the Eiffel Tower on that boat with all my teammates, with it sparkling with the Olympic rings, it was really cool.”
Before Markus could ever ride down the Seine River with his Olympic teammates or be named one of the best Formula Kite racers in the world, he started on a sailboat in the Hudson River with his older brother Lukas Edegran ‘09.
Markus learned how to sail at eight years old and fell in love with being on the water. By the time he entered Hackley in sixth grade, he was already competing in tournaments.
Markus spent his high school years at Hackley competing on the soccer, squash, and lacrosse teams while creating lasting friendships with his friends. From photography class with former teacher Thomas Chin to conversations with his advisor Danny Lawerence and even his participation in the Ski Club, Markus took full advantage of all Hackley had to offer.
After Hackley, Markus followed in Lukas’s footsteps to sail at The Naval Academy. At Navy, Markus was impressive, showcasing his skills with wins at the Old Dominion University Spring Open and the Tom Noble Team Race. However, Markus’s most priceless moment was getting to race with his brother.
“In college sailing, it is usually only one guy and girl in the boat,” Markus said, “However, if it is windy enough, you will have another guy hop in the boat with you, and I remember in the conference championship having my brother in the boat with me. We had some pretty good races together, and it’s just a really nice memory.”
After two years at Navy, Markus transferred to Saint Mary’s College to further pursue his sailing career. Making first team All-MAISA Coed Skipper and MAISA All-Academic Team should be the highlights of his time at Saint Mary’s; however, it was Lukas’ introduction of kiteboarding to Markus in 2015 that fully changed Markus’s life trajectory.
As Lukas continued recreationally, Markus began to take Lukas’ old equipment and begin his own journey: one that would take formula kite from a hobby to a career.
“In 2019, I decided to merge my competitive sailing background and put it on the kiteboarding platform and just dove in and tried to see if I could make it past the learning curve,” Markus said, “I wanted to give myself a chance and see if I really put some time into it, where I could be nationally and internationally.”
In Markus’ first year of competition, he rose through the ranks and proved he had what it took to reach the pinnacle of Formula Kite competitions with multiple high-ranking placements in major tournaments. Markus attempted to be on the water twice a day every day, and without a coach, he leaned on more experienced professionals when he has questions. Without a job, Markus relied on donations and sponsorship to fund his Olympic journey. With all his practice and all he knew he had at stake, Markus quickly established himself as one of the top Americans in the sport.
When news broke that Formula Kite was making its inaugural appearance in the Olympic games, countries scrambled to put together their best rosters to send to Paris. With three months to go before the Olympics, Markus headed down to France to compete in the Last Chance Regatta where the last five countries and their prospective athletes were competing for spots in the games.
“It came down to the last day, but to cross the finish line and know that the United States and I had a spot in the Olympics was unbelievable,” Markus said, “After four years of training, it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. It felt super cool to represent the country and make sure the US was part of the first Olympic games for Kiteboarding.”
Markus lamented missing some reunion events with his graduating class due to his Olympic training but understood what had to be done to reach his goals. Throughout the festivities of the Paris Olympics, Markus was pleasantly surprised by the reaction from the Hackley community.
“I had a lot of messages for sure,” Markus said. “My classmates had a little group chat following the racing and cheering me on, and it was great to feel that support.”
The nature of competitive kiteboarding, at least before the Olympics, was a fairly small network in Markus’ eyes. Traveling to all the major tournaments and common practice spots, he would come across the same guys from all around the world. Now with the whole world watching, the kiteboarders had to compete for stakes higher than ever before.
“To share that moment together knowing that it was all of our first Olympics and the first for kiteboarding itself was really special,” Markus said. “Right before the final medal race, we had a ceremony with just the top ten and to become a part of Olympic history with them was a super cool moment.”
After placing ninth overall in Paris, Markus is eager to compete again for Team USA. With the sport’s growing popularity, Markus will have to ward off a talented group of American racers, but he’s confident that his experience this summer will help give him a leg up. As the United States looks to host the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Markus’ objective is clear.
“Looking back [at Paris], I realized I had a good chance at getting a medal, so now I am going to prepare in a way that going into L.A, I have a good shot of bringing a medal home,” Markus said.
