By Jack Burden

SCOTT, Ark. — For the second time in a month, Hanna Straltsova may have broken the longest-standing world record in water skiing — once again by the slimmest of margins.

At the We Wave Independence Day Record held at Bullneck Lake, the reigning world overall champion posted a slalom score of 0@10.75m, a trick score of 9,070 points, and a 58.5-meter (192-foot) jump. Combined, those numbers edge out the current world overall record by just three points — a margin smaller than a sideslide. The existing record, set by Natallia Berdnikava in 2012, had remained untouched for over a decade until Straltsova’s recent surge.

This performance builds on Straltsova’s pending record from just last month, continuing her quiet assault on one of the sport’s toughest milestones. That both scores came at small, domestic record tournaments rather than major events only adds to the understated precision of her campaign.

On social media, Straltsova teased, “All of my best scores are yet to come in one round,” hinting that she may still be building toward a definitive peak.

While the spotlight this weekend was on Quebec — where the WWS Canada Cup opened the 2025 Overall Tour with prize money, crowds, and high-stakes battles between stars like Giannina Bonnemann Mechler and Kennedy Hansen — Straltsova stayed home, opting for the solitude of an amateur backyard tournament over center stage.

That decision mirrors her career in recent years. Since switching allegiance from Belarus to the U.S., she’s competed outside the country just twice in the last five years — both times at the WWS Canada Cup.

Still, the timing couldn’t be more compelling. With the World Championships looming later this summer, Straltsova’s form will put pressure on the field — and may reset expectations for what’s possible in women’s overall. Bonnemann Mechler, fresh off maternity leave, and the fast-rising Hansen have both shown they can win under pressure. But Straltsova now has something more: back-to-back pending world records, and the aura of inevitability that comes with them.

Thirteen years ago, Berdnikava set a mark that felt untouchable. Now, Straltsova has cleared it — twice — in the span of a month. Neither run was perfect. But both were enough.

A quarter of a buoy. Forty trick points. Twenty centimeters. That’s all that separated her from history.

Twice.

And if she’s right — that her best scores still haven’t landed in the same round — then we may not have seen the real record yet.

By Jack Burden

POLK CITY, FL — The longest-standing world record in waterskiing might have just fallen—by the narrowest margin in history.

At the Bill Wenner Memorial Record tournament in central Florida this weekend, reigning world overall and jump champion Hanna Straltsova quietly assembled a near-flawless performance: 5 buoys at 11.25 meters (38’ off), 8,890 points in tricks, and a 59.8-meter (196 ft) jump. Combined, her scores yielded an overall total of 2,581.4—just 0.3 points beyond the mark Natallia Berdnikava set back in 2012.

If ratified, it would not only end a 13-year reign, but also stand as the smallest margin by which a world overall record has ever been broken.

Straltsova, a former Belarusian who now skis for the United States and trains at Bennett’s Ski School in Louisiana, has long been one of the most promising athletes in the sport. Since Jacinta Carroll’s retirement, she’s dominated jump. But this weekend may have marked her most complete performance yet—one built not on one standout moment, but on balance, precision, and timing across all three events.

Berdnikava’s 2012 mark—3@11.25m, 9,740 points, and a 58.0m (190′) jump—became a benchmark that defined a generation. For over a decade, it resisted every challenger. Straltsova came closest—not with explosive trick scores or a record-breaking jump, but with just enough across the board.

Still, her record-setting effort was nearly lost in the noise.

At the same event, 17-year-old Jake Abelson tricked over 13,000 points twice, possibly signaling a new era for men’s trick skiing. But Straltsova’s accomplishment—subtler, steadier—may prove just as historic.

After years of dominance in one event, she’s now proven herself capable of rewriting the totals, too. And in a sport where overall skiing has sometimes taken a back seat to individual-event spectacle, that matters.

Thirteen years. A third of a point. A new name at the top.