Seven months before Barcelona, Barbara was thrown from a motorboat and the propeller severed a tendon and broke a bone in her wrist. Out of adversity came triumph for Kendall.
She cleaned up the field, in the process becoming the first female boardsailing gold medallist, illuminating Barcelona with her infectious smile. She was New Zealand's only gold medallist of the Games and was the first New Zealand woman to win gold in 40 years since Yvette Williams' breakthrough gold at Helsinki.
Sailing is one of those sports where it is quite difficult to convey drama in the written word or even on television.
What couldn't be hidden from everyone except those with an inside knowledge of the sport was Kendall's delight at her achievement.
She didn't just earn her way onto the top step of the dais, she owned the podium.
Kendall didn't stop there either, adding silver and bronze in Atlanta and Sydney respectively.
In the process, she became a national treasure, without ever losing the sense that she was at heart a bit of a windswept hippie.
She has since demonstrated an ability to step out of her comfort zone.
Kendall finished second in a series of Dancing With the Stars and is a full member of the IOC. Thankfully, that has not stopped her voicing her disapproval at the scrubbing of boardsailing from the Olympic programme at Rio de Janeiro in favour of the brash, young upstart of the sailing world, kiteboarding.
"What is highlighted is that ISAF [world sailing's governing body] had not done due diligence in presenting the findings to the members, facts were not presented clearly, passion and emotion charged the room and the vote was made," she wrote in her blog. "During this meeting four out of the 10 sailing classes that were new were voted into [the] Olympic programme. I don't know many businesses that would in 24 hours change their business by 40 per cent ... It is really quite astounding."
