Windsurfing needs wind. So who better than a Windy City native to take Team USA to the Olympics?
Olympic windsurfer Bob Willis may not have the Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico on his side, but he has Lake Michigan.
Growing up, Willis inherited his love for sailing from his older sister and brother, who were both members of the Columbia Yacht Club. At just 8 years old he joined the same downtown club where he spent his summer weeks competitively sailing.
Windsurfing started as a hobby for Willis, “an outlet from sailing,” and a pastime with his older brother, but it eventually grew to be much more.
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Whether it was Lake Michigan or Wolf Lake in Indiana, he was on the water day in and day out with his brother and their “pocket” of windsurfing pals, as they pioneered the sport in the Midwest.
“I was kind of at that age where, you know, I got really interested in [windsurfing] and I ended up obsessing about it and I took it a little bit further,” he said of his teen years.
The “little bit further” took 25-year-old Willis all the way to the London 2012 Olympics, where he is the only windsurfing Olympian not from California or Florida, and the only sailor from the Midwest region.
“It’s pretty spectacular,” said Willis. “I’m definitely carrying my head pretty high and very proud to represent the Chicago area for Olympic windsurfing.”
After earning his ticket to London in 2011 for being a top finisher in Olympic regattas in England and Australia, Willis has made waves across the U.S. for his unorthodox background in surfing and sailing.
But don’t be fooled by his dark tan, beachy hair, wetsuit and laidback attitude -- he is still a true Chicagoan.
Besides there's a lot more to windsurfing than looking like a surfer.
“When I think of Chicago that’s what I think about: summertime in Chicago, being on Lake Michigan, and spending my time with a lot of people who had the same passion for the sport as I did and in a remarkably beautiful city,” said Willis.
Besides there's a lot more to windsurfing than looking like a surfer.
The sport, considered RS:X class in the Summer Games, is a vigorous and endurance-testing activity and can be even more challenging in the warm breezes of Lake Michigan.
Despite the scorching summer days in Australia and England, Willis said those locations experience a consistent and cool sea breeze that helps keep a surfer’s temperature down, unlike the hot breath of air that blows through the Windy City. Other than that, Lake Michigan is about as close to an ocean as you can get for windsurfing.
“Chicago sailing is competitive," Willis said, "and a lot of people on the East Coast and West Coast may not respect that, but it’s the truth."
Willis is set to appear in the London Games July 31, where he will fight for a Midwestern win in the RS:X competition.
