When you’re flying across the water in pursuit of the African female windsurfing speed record, there’s no room for hesitation, no second chances, and no margin for doubt.
For South African speed windsurfer Karo van Tonder – who in 2024 improved on her 2019 record by 1.28 knots – those few seconds define everything. It takes months of preparation, years of resilience, and now, a partnership that reflects her trajectory at the highest level of the sport.
The recent announcement of her status as TAG Heuer brand ambassador marks a defining moment in a career shaped by discipline, persistence, and an uncompromising pursuit of speed. It’s also a natural alignment. The Swiss watchmaker’s ‘Designed to Win’ philosophy speaks to athletes who push limits and redefine what is possible – a mindset that mirrors Karo’s own journey.
“It definitely reflects a very solid point in my career,” she says. “It’s been a long physical and emotional journey to get to this point. I feel like I’ve given everything to it. Having reached the African record and fifth-fastest-in-the-world ranking, this feels like a real highlight – through all the adversity and trauma I’ve experienced, with my story, and my sport, I’m so proud that a brand like TAG Heuer wants me to represent them.”
Built for Speed
The numbers tell their own story. Karo holds the African women’s speed record at 45.83 knots over 500 metres, reaching a maximum of 48 knots at the last Lüderitz Speed Challenge. This places her among the fastest windsurfers in the world and cements her reputation as one of the sport’s most formidable competitors.
Speed sailing, she explains, is windsurfing’s equivalent of Formula 1. Precision, timing, and physical strength converge in a discipline where opportunity can be fleeting.
“You train for two years, and then you’re at the event for six weeks,” she says. “In that time, you might get five minutes of perfect wind. If you’re not ready in that moment, you lose the chance. You can’t afford to make a mistake.”
The Discipline Behind the Record
Preparation for that moment is relentless. Karo is currently in the early stages of a new two-year training cycle aimed at breaking the world speed record – a process that requires strength, endurance, and mental conditioning.
Her routine is rigorous: five days a week of intense strength training combined with endurance cardio such as running and mountain biking, alongside hours on the water whenever conditions allow. The physical demands are significant, particularly when additional weight is required for stability at extreme speeds.
“My natural weight is around 60 kilograms, but ideally I want to reach 70 for competition,” she explains. “It has to be functional weight – strength that allows you to hold the power of the wind.”
Diet plays an equally important role. With the intensity of training, the challenge is less about restriction and more about maintaining sufficient energy levels.
“I burn so much that the focus is getting enough in,” she says. “I try to keep everything natural – home-cooked food, good variety, and high-calorie nutrition shakes when needed. It’s about fuelling performance.”
Precision extends beyond physical preparation. Timing is everything in speed sailing – and it’s here that Karo’s partnership with a watchmaker feels particularly fitting.
During training sessions, she uses GPS devices to track her performance and monitor speed and consistency.
At major events, the process becomes even more exacting, with laser systems measuring performance over a 500-metre course to millisecond accuracy.
“You need consistency across that distance,” she explains. “It’s not just about hitting a peak speed. You need to maintain it, and that means reading the wind perfectly, fine-tuning your equipment, and committing fully when the moment comes.”
That commitment comes with risk. Karo has undergone five operations during her career to repair shoulder dislocations and ruptured Achilles tendons – injuries that would have ended many athletes’ ambitions.
For her, they became stepping stones.
“Each time I had to start from scratch,” she says. “But it built resilience. By the time I faced a really horrible incident, worse than all the injuries, I already had that staying power.”
Among her career highlights is completing – and winning – one of the longest windsurf races in the world, an 80km endurance challenge in Mauritius in 2017. It was her second year as a professional windsurfer and tested not only physical endurance, but mental strength.
“You’re completely alone out there,” she recalls. “It was daunting, but finishing that race gave me confidence. I realised I could push through without anyone around me.”
That mindset continues to shape her ambitions. The next world speed record (at a date still to be set) is firmly in her sights, alongside competitive events such as Defi Wind, the biggest slalom race in the world.
She previously placed third on fin (as opposed to foil) and believes she can go further.
“I’m aiming to win,” she says.
Her connection to windsurfing, however, runs deeper than competition. Growing up in George, she became fascinated with the visual beauty of sails on the water – particularly their colours, reminiscent of butterfly wings.
“I always loved butterflies,” she says. “It was a childhood dream to fly. When I saw my dad on the water, it looked like that – like flying.”
That sense of freedom remains central to her relationship with the sport, even as the stakes grow higher.
Resilience Beyond the Water
Yet behind the achievements lies a quieter layer of resilience.
After being raped by someone in her inner circle in May 2021, a week before entries closed for the 2024 world speed record, Karo was forced to confront challenges far beyond competition.
“It could have destroyed me,” she says. “But I decided I wasn’t going to crack. I worked through it with the support of my husband and family, and eventually I came back stronger.”
That strength ultimately shaped her return to competition – and her record-breaking performance.
“It actually helped me break the record,” she reflects. “When you know what real fear feels like, you approach the wind differently. You push harder.”
Today, she channels that perspective into her training, her goals, her partnership with TAG Heuer, and her willingness to share her story.
While she waits for legal proceedings to take their course, she gives talks in the hope that others can learn from her experience and prevent similar trauma. She also serves on the Gender-Based Violence Committee in Langebaan.
“‘Designed to win’ is about pushing limits,” she says. “It’s about believing you can break records, even when it’s difficult.”
The pursuit of speed continues, driven by discipline, resilience, and unwavering determination.
And when the perfect wind arrives – those few fleeting minutes that define a career – she will be ready.
