RECETTO, Italy — Andy Mapple’s benchmark continues to stand tall. Despite a World Championships stacked with veterans — including seven serious title contenders over 40 — the younger generation of water skiers emerged decisively on top.
Only six athletes have ever claimed a world title past the age of 35, and Mapple’s 2001 triumph at 38 remains the high-water mark. With the likes of Regina Jaquess, Thomas Degasperi, Will Asher, and Ryan Dodd still in the mix, many expected that record to finally fall. Instead, the oldest champion crowned last week was Nate Smith at just 34 years, 9 months, while the average age of the winners was a youthful 27.
Time and again, youth edged experience. Jaimee Bull, 25, toppled 40-year-old Jaquess in women’s slalom. Joel Poland, 27, outshined Dodd, 40, in men’s jump. In the men’s slalom final, a field stacked with veterans — Degasperi, Vaughn, Asher, Travers, and Winter — produced just one top-five finish from the over-35s, courtesy of Asher. The sternest challenge to Smith came instead from the youngest skier in the final, 20-year-old Charlie Ross. In women’s jump, Hanna Straltsova (30) delivered as expected, but it was the younger duo of Brittany Greenwood Wharton and Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya who narrowly kept Jaquess (40) and Jutta Menestrina (38) off the podium.
Even in tricks, long a proving ground for the next generation, the pattern held. Teenagers Matias Gonzalez and Jake Abelson claimed the top of the podium, while 24-year-old Neilly Ross took down world record holder Erika Lang (29).
Sports science, training, and recovery may be prolonging careers, but for now Mapple’s mark remains untouched. Nearly a quarter century after his last title — also here in Recetto — the sport’s ultimate prizes still belong to the young.
RECETTO, Italy — For six days in northern Italy, water skiing seemed determined to burst out of its own history. The 2025 World Championships were not just a contest for medals but a collision of eras: champions fighting to defend their crowns, teenagers breaking through the gates, and performances that stretched the sport into new territory.
It didn’t start that way. The opening days were reshuffled by storms, rain smearing across the placid waters of Recetto. But by Friday the skies cleared, the wind fell flat, and the lake turned to stillness. What followed was a rush of personal bests — especially in jump, where skiers pushed themselves farther than anyone thought possible.
The Prelims: Cracks in the Armor
Joel Poland walked down the dock on Friday with the casual confidence of a man who had won everything there was to win. Tricks has always been his insurance policy in overall, the foundation of his dominance. And yet, in a mirror of his stumble at the last Worlds, he went down early.
“That was just heartbreaking,” Poland admitted later, frustration in his voice. “Like a dream… gone, again.”
The mistake rattled the field. Pato Font and Mati Gonzalez wobbled through their passes. The cut line fell to its lowest in nearly a decade — not from weakness, but nerves. Suddenly, the men’s trick final looked wide open.
On the women’s side, it was the opposite. Regina Jaquess and Jaimee Bull tore through 10.75m (39.5′ off) with machine precision, while 22-year-old Kennedy Hansen quietly put together personal bests in both slalom and jump. By the end of Friday, she was in the mix for overall medals — and a genuine threat to Hanna Straltsova’s iron hold on the crown.
Saturday Fireworks
By Saturday the tournament had caught fire.
Men’s slalom provided the starkest reminder of how far the sport has evolved. For the first time in history, a piece of three at 10.25m wasn’t enough to guarantee a finals spot. Twelve skiers, all within a buoy of one another, crammed the leaderboard. Even Poland, hoping to rebound, was squeezed out with 2.25 at the pass.
Tricks went ballistic: seven women cracked 9,000, with Erika Lang and Neilly Ross punching past 11,000 for the first time ever at Worlds. “It’s hard in prelims — you just want to secure your spot,” Ross said afterward. “Hopefully tomorrow I can just go and go fully.”
And then came men’s jump. Dorien Llewellyn, after three years battling injury and inconsistency, soared 69.6m (228 feet) — his longest since 2021. The leap pushed him into the overall lead, just 13 points clear of Louis Duplan-Fribourg, setting up the tightest overall showdown in recent memory.
Ryan Dodd and Poland tied for the lead at 70.5m (231′), a strange echo of their summer duel at the California ProAm. Everywhere you looked, it felt as if the old guard and the new blood were destined to collide.
Finals Sunday: A Collision of Eras
By Sunday the tournament had shed its nerves. The storms were gone, the prelim jitters gone. The water in Recetto lay flat, as if it knew history was waiting.
Tricks: Margins Measured in Frames
Tricks is the cruelest event because immortality and anonymity can hinge on a single freeze-frame. For decades, only the judges saw those margins. This time, thanks to EyeTrick, everyone did. Fans could watch a world title swing on whether a toe slide was rotated 90 degrees or 85.
The women’s final was billed as a heavyweight clash: Lang’s innovation, Ross’s precision, Anna Gay Hunter’s pedigree. But the first half of the field faltered, pressing too hard on risky runs. Hunter steadied things with 10,730, matching her prelims to lock in a medal. Lang went next, laying down a world record run, but missed the rope on her ski-line back-to-back. Three hundred points vanished in an instant.
That left Ross. At 24, she has often played second fiddle to the older Lang or Hunter. But in the past year has found another gear. Two immaculate passes later, the scoreboard confirmed what her posture already said: World Champion.
“I haven’t won a Worlds since 2017,” Ross said, shaking her head. “Every single one since then I’ve just kinda blown it. We made this the goal — do my run. Today I just went for it. I really wanted this one.”
The men’s event spiraled into chaos. Defending champion Font posted 12,010. Then Gonzalez — all velocity and audacity — strung together a blistering 5,500-point toe run, backing it with a clean hand pass for 12,410. It forced the rest into desperation.
Llewellyn, trying to put the overall race out of reach, sank in disbelief after a miscued landing. Abelson, the wunderkind and world record holder, seemed composed — until the scoring system caught him. A rushed toe slide, four judges ruling it under-rotated, pushed his buzzer beating toe-line-front out of time. His final total: 12,400. Ten points short.
Ten points. The smallest possible increment in trick skiing. The kind of number that sticks forever.
When Duplan-Fribourg couldn’t repeat his prelim magic, Gonzalez was champion — speechless on the dock. “It feels amazing,” he stammered. “It was my dream… now I can say I did it. Congrats to Jake too — he’s one of the best in the world. We have the best here.”
Slalom: The Old Guard Meets the Future
Women’s slalom opened with an unlikely spark. Sade Ferguson, once a junior jump prodigy until injuries derailed her career, returned as if she’d never missed a season. Her 5 @ 10.75m was a huge personal best and an early lead.
Allie Nicholson scraped half a buoy past it. Jaimee Bull, calm as a metronome, became the first to run 10.75, but faltered at 10.25 with a botched S-turn for just one and a half. Regina Jaquess, chasing history, fought through 10.75 off but couldn’t get her ski outside of two at 10.25. The shoreline knew instantly what it meant: Bull, 25 years old, three straight World titles.
“I can’t really believe three in a row,” Bull said. “Two felt crazy. Today I didn’t think that was enough — but it was.”
The men’s final felt like two different sports at once: veterans clinging to relevance and a new generation kicking the door down. Freddie Winter bowed out early. Will Asher, seemingly reborn, posted five at 10.25 and celebrated like a man half his age. Then Nate Smith made 10.25 look like a warm-up, forcing the others to gamble.
One by one they failed — until Charlie Ross, 20 and fresh off his first pro wins, matched Smith. He ran 10.25 smoother than anyone, tying at 9.75 to force the runoff. Smith, the most reliable closer the sport has ever known, prevailed. But Ross walked away with proof he belonged in the deepest end of the pool.
“I’ve never even tried 41 off the dock in practice,” Smith admitted afterward. “At two, a lot goes through your head — should I stand up, should I turn it? But today, yeah… I’m pretty happy. That’s cool.”
Jump: Shaved Heads and Broken Dynasties
Jump was the crescendo, the shoreline swelling with every flight. The women’s final opened with personal bests — Maise Jacobsen, Aaliyah Yoong Hannifah both cracking 50 meters — before Brittany Greenwood Wharton, back from injury, hit 54.4m (178 feet), her longest in years. Straltsova needed only two jumps to secure the crown and her golden double. “I’m so happy,” she said simply. “It’s hard to defend.”
The men’s jump final had more plotlines than an HBO drama. Tim Wild, just 18, came off the lower ramp and went 68.1m — ten days earlier he’d never cracked 60. Bronze overall, his name now etched into the sport’s future. Duplan-Fribourg faltered in his overall defense, leaving Llewellyn to claim the title he’d chased for years.
But the jump crown itself belonged to Poland. His opening leap — 72.1m, the biggest of his life and a new European record — stopped the shoreline in its tracks. He passed his next two, gambling it would hold. It did.
Ryan Dodd, five-time champion, threw everything he had, cracked 70, but fell short. With that, three decades of North American dominance — Krueger, Jaret, Dodd — ended. Poland’s elation as he hit the water carried something more than victory. It carried release.
“Yeah, that was unreal,” he said, still buzzing. “This shaved head… I might have to keep it. It seems to be working. Over the moon.”
A New Benchmark for the World Championships
In the end, the numbers told the story. Recetto didn’t just host a World Championships — it redefined what one looks like. The cut to make the finals in men’s slalom, men’s jump, and women’s tricks was the highest in history, a staggering testament to the depth of talent on display. Tournament records fell or were matched in women’s tricks, men’s slalom, and women’s slalom, while the podiums in both men’s and women’s slalom and tricks went down as the four highest-scoring in the sport’s history.
The pattern extended across every discipline. The men’s jump final produced the second-highest podium ever, as did the men’s overall — each pushed to the brink by athletes refusing to give an inch. And beyond the headlines and record books came the quieter triumphs: the countless personal bests, the season-best performances, the moments where skiers left the dock knowing they had just redefined their own ceiling.
That’s what made Recetto different. This wasn’t simply another Worlds where one or two stars lifted the level. It was a collective surge, a field-wide elevation that left even veterans shaking their heads. When the dust settles, 2025 may well be remembered as the World Championships where water skiing itself moved to the next level.
The storm had blown through. The lake flattened. The crowd, swelling with anticipation all week, angled in for a clear view of the skier many consider the greatest of his generation. After seven world records and nine consecutive professional overall titles, a Joel Poland world crown was beginning to feel like a foregone conclusion.
His toe pass was vintage Poland: powerful, explosive, all big tricks and high-octane energy where most competitors rely on precision and speed. Only a slight miscue at the end hinted at vulnerability. Then came his hand pass — his strongest suit. Commentators couldn’t help but bring up the ghosts of two years earlier, when he submarined on his signature super-mobe-five, only to mount one of the most famous comebacks in World Championship history.
But this time, Poland never even got that far. Midway through an otherwise routine sequence — mobe, mobe, half-jack — he stumbled on a front flip, one of the most basic tricks in his arsenal. Suddenly, the man who makes the impossible look effortless was swimming, staring in disbelief as the moment slipped away.
On the shore, images of Poland sitting slumped, head in hands, echoed the heartbreak of 2023. For the swashbuckling superstar who has turned everything he touches to gold, it was another inexplicable collapse on the sport’s biggest stage.
Since claiming his first world title in 2021, Poland has been untouchable on the professional circuit. He has entered 14 pro overall events, winning all but two, and hasn’t lost a WWS Overall Tour event since October 2022. Tricks — the most cutthroat of the three disciplines — have been the foundation of that success.
In 26 rounds of tricking on the Overall Tour, he’s dipped below 10,000 points only twice, both back in 2022. Across 35 pro starts in tricks, he’s failed to hit that mark only once in the last three years. His career average since 2021 sits comfortably above 11,000. Most remarkably, he has never missed a final at a professional overall or trick event.
Measured by consistency, no male tricker can match him. Pato Font and Matias Gonzalez have piled up more outright wins, but neither boasts Poland’s 80-plus percent podium rate. As Joel himself has put it countless times: “Overall’s about not screwing up.” For half a decade, no one has been better at not screwing up.
Except, it seems, at the World Championships.
For the second straight cycle, Poland’s Worlds campaign unraveled in tricks. The contrast couldn’t be sharper: invincible on the Tour, error-prone at the marquee event. It’s hard to reconcile the two Joels — the unstoppable force who has redefined overall skiing, and the athlete undone by the same mistakes at the same tournament.
This wasn’t always the case. Poland burst into public consciousness with a triple-gold performance at the 2019 Under-21 Worlds, nearly breaking the world overall record in the process. Later that year, he shocked pundits by medaling twice at the Open Worlds. His defining moment came in 2021, in a gladiatorial duel with Dorien Llewellyn that ended with Poland setting a new world overall record to clinch gold.
But since then, Worlds has turned from proving ground into stumbling block. Whether it’s the weight of favoritism, overtraining, or just cruel coincidence, no one — perhaps not even Poland himself — can explain why the sport’s most consistent tricker has reserved his only missed finals for its most important event.
Poland’s misstep reopens an old tension in water skiing: is the World Championships truly the measure of the world’s best?
Many argue no. After winning Worlds in 2023, Freddie Winter himself admitted he had spent the year chasing Nate Smith, usually finishing second to him on Tour. By every measure of consistency, Smith was the best slalomer that year — yet Winter walked away with the title that mattered most.
There’s logic in rewarding consistency. Series and season-long circuits, like the Waterski Pro Tour, offer larger sample sizes that cut through the noise of off-days or lucky breaks. By that standard, Poland — undefeated for 11 months in jump and two years in overall, breaking multiple world records, and banking more prize money than anyone else — is indisputably the best skier on Earth. No one, male or female, has been more dominant in 2024 and 2025.
But the counterargument carries weight too. Not every elite skier can travel the Tour. Financial realities mean many of the sport’s best — Nate Smith, Regina Jaquess — skip most pro stops. The Worlds remains the one event where the entire field gathers, each athlete peaking for that week. Its self-fulfilling prestige lies in that convergence.
For Poland, the paradox endures. By almost every metric, he’s the standard-bearer of modern skiing — a generational talent redefining what’s possible. Yet on the one stage that crowns legends, he has twice fallen short.
Maybe it’s fate. Maybe it’s the cruel symmetry of sport. Or maybe it’s just a reminder that no matter how inevitable greatness feels, nothing in the World Championships is ever guaranteed.
The World Championships run from August 26-31 and will be broadcast live on TWBC.
RECETTO, Italy — If the early rounds are any indication, the 2025 World Championships are on course to turn into a full-blown jump fest.
The headline act of the opening days belonged to Brandon Schipper, who delivered the performance of his life under unlikely circumstances. Landing in Italy at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, the hulking Minnesotan skipped familiarization, strapped on his skis, and unleashed the three biggest jumps of his career. His best — 67.1 meters (220 feet) — was an eight-foot personal best that should all but secure him a spot in Sunday’s finals.
“I knew I had it in me,” Schipper said afterward, still buzzing from adrenaline. “But man, it’s so hard to stay calm at Worlds when you PB on your first jump.”
The 29-year-old, a CrossFit competitor off the water, has built a reputation for peaking when the lights are brightest. At the 2023 Worlds, he also reached the finals with a personal best. But this was another level.
Announcer Glen Williams could hardly believe what he was watching:
“Brandon Schipper just keeps spanking off big jump after big jump — the big man, it’s a herculean effort. Off a 10-hour flight, no famil, straight out there and over 66 meters on his first go. That 220-foot jump, that’s phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal.”
Schipper wasn’t the only one flying. Of the 40 jumpers from series three and above, more than 60% posted season-bests — most of them all-time personal bests. Over 80% finished within a meter or better of their season’s best.
Strong performances at Worlds aren’t unusual; skiers spend years tailoring their training cycles to peak on this stage. But this sheer volume of PBs points to something more: near-perfect conditions and a towboat setup dialed in for distance.
“I’ve heard from a bunch of the guys — they say that Ski Nautique feels so dialed, super strong,” said announcer Zane Nicholson. “And with this lake being as perfect as it is, everything’s just set up for huge scores.”
Another breakout story belonged to Tim Wild, who cleared 60 meters for the first time just last weekend at the U21 Europeans. In Recetto, he smashed that mark again — flying 65.2 meters.
Jo Nakamura added a new Japanese national record, while Jake Abelson logged a two-meter PB to cement his rising status in men’s overall.
The slight tailwind that lingered through much of the day offered no artificial advantage, making the distances all the more impressive. And for Schipper — all drawn-out vowels, clipped consonants, and that unmistakable Upper Midwest hockey-bro cadence — the post-jump euphoria was impossible to miss.
“Ooooooh, oh my gosh, braaaah, let’s goooo! Holy buckets, dude,” he gushed after watching the replay of his longest jump.
With the sport’s biggest names still waiting in the wings, Wednesday felt less like a warmup than a warning shot.
This isn’t a routine Worlds performance lift. This feels like a signal for takeoff.
If the early rounds are a preview, Recetto may be about to host one of the greatest displays of jumping in World Championships history.
The World Championships run from August 26-31 and will be broadcast live on TWBC.
The World Championships are supposed to be about gold medals. But in Recetto this week, they feel like something else: a tug-of-war between history and the future.
On one side, the icons. Regina Jaquess, a win away from becoming the most decorated skier in tournament history. Ryan Dodd, who could leapfrog Sammy Duvall on the all-time medal table. Whitney McClintock Rini, chasing her 11th podium to edge past Andy Mapple. And Thomas Degasperi, Will Asher, Corey Vaughn — still hunting titles long after most of their peers retired.
They are proof that greatness can stretch across decades. Only six skiers have ever won Worlds gold after turning 35, yet here in Recetto half a dozen contenders over 40 could not only join that list, but even surpass Mapple’s record as the oldest ever world champion.
But tugging back are the new flag-bearers. Jake Abelson, just 17, who has pushed trick skiing to new heights. Mati Gonzalez, hot on his heels. Charlie Ross, a slalom prodigy itching to test himself against the names he grew up idolizing. Kennedy Hansen, the seventh woman in history to break 10,000 in tricks and still only scratching the surface of her potential in overall.
That’s the real drama of Recetto. Not just who wins medals, but whether this is the week the next generation steps out of the shadows — or the week the legends remind them the torch won’t be passed so easily.
The World Championships run from August 26-31 and will be broadcast live on TWBC.
The World Championships—waterskiing’s marquee event—return to Recetto, Italy this summer, the same site that saw a 17-year-old Regina Jaquess claim her first world title in 2001, and a then-titleless Freddy Krueger finish second in jump.
Two decades later, the names have (mostly) changed, but the stakes remain colossal.
With the biennial blockbuster on the horizon, we’re throwing caution, restraint, and any fear of being wrong to the wind—forecasting the head-to-heads, highlighting the spoilers, and offering our best guesses at who takes home gold.
For arguably the first time, Jaimee Bull enters a World Championships as the outright favorite. With back-to-back world titles and a dominant run on the Waterski Pro Tour, the young Canadian has earned her status. But Regina Jaquess is still Regina Jaquess. The world record holder may have scaled back her pro appearances, but her top-end scores remain unmatched.
A gold here would not only make Jaquess the most decorated women’s slalom skier ever—surpassing Helena Kjellander—but would also tie her with Liz Allan for the most world titles (11) in the sport’s history.
Frontrunners: Nate Smith (USA) vs. Freddie Winter (GBR)
Challengers: Thomas Degasperi (ITA), Charlie Ross (CAN), and honestly, about 10 others
Trying to pick a men’s slalom winner lately feels like trying to play darts in a hurricane. Smith and Winter—owners of five of the last six World titles—remain the obvious picks, but their form has diverged. Winter leads the 2025 Waterski Pro Tour and looks sharp in his comeback year. Smith has shifted focus off-tour but still shows flashes of brilliance.
Degasperi has the résumé, Ross has the momentum, and the rest of the pack is deep enough that a piece of three at 10.25m (41′) might not secure a finals berth. Buckle up.
Frontrunners: Erika Lang (USA) vs. Neilly Ross (CAN)
Challengers: Anna Gay Hunter (USA), Giannina Bonnemann Mechler (GER)
Lang looked untouchable all season—until she didn’t. Ross’s late-season charge and commanding win at Botas proved there’s still room for surprises. The margins are thin, the scores are huge, and it’s likely the winner will need to flirt with the world record to seal gold.
And if they falter? Don’t count out Hunter or Mechler, both capable of hitting big numbers when it counts.
Frontrunners: Jake Abelson (USA) vs. Patricio Font (MEX)
Challengers: Louis Duplan-Fribourg (FRA), Matias Gonzalez (CHI), Joel Poland (GBR)
We’re being unfair to Gonzalez by listing him as a “challenger.” He, Font, and Abelson have split almost every major final this season and regularly trade blows above 12,500.
Abelson gets the edge here: he broke the 13k barrier, swept the richest trick events of 2025, and looks nearly unbeatable. But tricks is chaos. A dropped handle or flubbed toe pass can flip the final standings in seconds. Expect fireworks.
Straltsova is in a league of her own. She’s jumped over four meters farther than her nearest rival in 2025, hasn’t lost a pro event in more than two years, and looks poised to defend her title with room to spare.
The only person who can beat Hanna right now is Hanna—injury, illness, or divine intervention aside. She’s as close to a lock as sport allows.
Frontrunners: Ryan Dodd (CAN) vs. Joel Poland (GBR)
Challengers: Jack Critchley (GBR), Luca Rauchenwald (AUT)
Since 1995, only three men—Jaret Llewellyn, Krueger, and Dodd—have won world jump titles. But with Krueger sidelined following knee surgery, only Dodd remains in the hunt. The defending champ will be aiming to tie Andy Mapple and Patrice Martin with a sixth title in a single event. If he pulls it off, he would also become the oldest champion in World Championships history.
But Poland is the favorite. Undefeated this year and winner of 9 of the last 11 major events, his flying form is undeniable. That said, jump finals are volatile. On any given day, anyone in the top eight could go 70+ and steal gold.
Straltsova is the reigning champion, and she’s been breaking records all season. But Bonnemann Mechler might be peaking at the right time. Already tricking near her best, the question is whether her slalom and jump can catch up in time.
Kennedy Hansen is the dark horse—only the seventh woman ever to score over 10,000 in tricks, and still on the rise. Danisheuskaya is consistent, and a past winner, but may need an upset to regain the top spot.
Frontrunners: Dorien Llewellyn (CAN) vs. Joel Poland (GBP)
Challengers: Louis Duplan-Fribourg (FRA), Martin Kolman (CZE)
Poland is the clear favorite, coming off back-to-back undefeated seasons on the WWS Overall Tour and a string of world records. Our pick for his biggest challenge goes to Llewellyn—more on potential than form—while Duplan-Fribourg, the reigning world champion, has consistently been second-best over the past two seasons.
Still, Llewellyn’s personal bests across the three events—into 10.25m (41′ off), just shy of 12,000 points in tricks, and over 70 meters (230 feet) in jump—make him the skier who can most seriously challenge Poland at his peak. If Poland stumbles, the depth in men’s overall is arguably at an all-time high, and several others could mount a title run.
Team USA are strong favorites to retain their title, with arguably their deepest roster in years. Canada will certainly keep them honest and has the firepower to reclaim the crown. And France—aka the Duplan-Fribourg family and friends—could very well stage an upset if the stars align. The stage is set for an intense battle for the World Championships title.
The World Championships run from August 26-31 and will be broadcast live on TWBC.
Quiz: Every medalist at the 2023 World Championships
Image: Johnny Hayward
By RTB
5 minute play
In this quiz, you have to name every medalist at the 2023 World Championships.
There were 24 medalists across 8 events at the 2023 World Championships held at Sunset Lakes in Groveland, Florida. The event is probably best remembered for the epic battle over the men’s overall title, following the presumed favorites shock exit and then near miraculous comeback. We have mentioned each medalist’s country, along with their placement in each event.
The World Championships have always delivered breathtaking competition, but perhaps no discipline captures the drama and intensity quite like overall. From dominant streaks and shocking upsets to clutch, career-defining performances, the race for overall gold has produced some of the most iconic moments in the sport’s history.
As we look ahead to the 2025 World Championships, anticipation is building—and so is nostalgia. We’re counting down the ten closest overall battles ever staged at the Worlds: contests where every buoy, every trick, and every inch mattered.
In this storied event, athletes compete across all three disciplines—slalom, tricks, and jump—with overall scores calculated based on how close they come to the best mark in each. The format rewards versatility and consistency, with the overall champion traditionally recognized as the best water skier in the world.
Join us as we relive some of the most thrilling overall showdowns in World Championship history.
Image: Yvon le Gall
10. Gothenburg, Sweden 1983
Contenders: Deena Brush (USA) vs. Ana Maria Carrasco (VEN)
The drama started before a single buoy was rounded. In a controversial decision, the U.S. Team left out the defending overall champion from 1981—Karin Roberge. Under the rules at the time, only officially selected team members could compete at the World Championships, and the U.S. used a Team Trials event two months prior to select its six-athlete roster. Roberge, having an off day in tricks, narrowly missed the cut.
Out of the preliminary rounds, two young challengers—21-year-old Deena Brush and 20-year-old Ana Maria Carrasco—emerged in a dead heat, with Brush holding a razor-thin 4-point advantage in overall.
In the slalom final, Brush edged ahead slightly, gaining another three-quarters of a buoy. The two would finish silver and bronze in the event. Then came tricks, where Carrasco—who had been trading the world record with the Soviet Union’s Natalia Rumjantseva over the past three years—delivered fireworks. In the final, she laid down a new world record of 7,970 points, putting over 2,000 points between herself and Brush. But in the combined-score format used for individual medals at the time, Carrasco still took silver behind Rumjantseva.
Carrasco’s performance vaulted her just ahead of Brush in the overall standings heading into jump—the weakest of Carrasco’s three events. She didn’t make the jump final and could only watch as Brush chased the title. The American, who would go on to become one of the greatest jumpers of all time, needed just two feet more than her prelim mark to claim gold. But it wasn’t to be. She missed the jump podium, and the title went to Carrasco.
Key Moment: Arguably, the U.S. Team Trials. On form, Karin Roberge was the best overall skier in the world at the time, and her scores from the previous World Championships would have comfortably secured the title.
Winning Margin: 28 points. Equivalent to two feet (70 centimeters) in jump.
Ana Maria Carrasco (2,641 points)
Deena Brush (2,613 points)
Camille Duvall (2,577 points)
Duvall pays an emotional tribute to his late father.
9. London, England 1987
Contenders: Sammy Duvall (USA) vs. Mick Neville (AUS)
It remains one of the most iconic moments in World Championship history—and arguably the most clutch performance waterskiing has ever seen.
Heading into the 1987 Worlds at Thorpe Park, Sammy Duvall had already cemented his legacy with three consecutive world overall titles. He was also one of the sport’s first true professionals—a dominant jumper, a fixture of the Coors Light Pro Tour, and a household name in the U.S. And by ’87, his appetite for amateur competition was waning. This would be his final World Championship appearance.
His chief rival, though lesser known to many today, was a generational talent. Mick Neville, the unpretentious Aussie, had evolved from a world-class tricker into perhaps the most complete skier of his time. To this day, Neville remains the only man to win professional titles in all three events during the modern era. Think of him as a 1980s Joel Poland—funny accent, quiet swagger, and an allegiance to the crown.
Neville, still burning from a narrow defeat to Duvall two years earlier, came out swinging. He shocked pundits by claiming bronze in slalom, outskiing Pro Tour staples like Kris LaPoint and Carl Roberge, even edging Michael Kjellander in a runoff. Duvall, meanwhile, narrowly missed the slalom final—leaving the door open.
In tricks, Neville was unshakable, scoring over 9,000 points in both rounds to claim silver behind Patrice Martin. With two events down, the Australian held a commanding lead in overall.
Duvall, as expected, had the edge in jump. His opening-round 57.4-meter leap led the field—but it wasn’t enough to erase Neville’s advantage, and he sat in third overall heading into the final round, trailing both Neville and Roberge.
What followed was chaos. The men’s jump final became a frenetic game of musical chairs, reshuffling the leaderboard with every skier. First, a 20-year-old Kreg Llewellyn launched three meters farther than in the prelims to bump Duvall off the overall podium. Then Martin posted a huge personal best to leap into second. Neville followed with a nearly two-meter improvement, vaulting into the lead. When Roberge failed to respond, Duvall stood on the dock—last man out—sitting in fifth place.
More than 10,000 spectators lined the banks of Thorpe Park. Tension was thick enough to cut with a ski fin. Security was even required on the dock after another competitor’s belligerent father got into an altercation with Duvall’s sister Camille. The atmosphere was electric.
Duvall’s first jump? A massive 59.1 meters—the farthest ever at a World Championships. It earned him the jump gold, but still left him half a meter shy of Neville in overall. Then came jump number two. And then, history.
On his final jump, everything clicked. You could hear it in the snap of his skis, see it in the compression before the ramp, and feel it in the silence that hung as he took flight. When he landed—200 feet downcourse—everyone knew. Sammy had done it. With one final, flawless leap, he ripped the overall title from Neville’s grasp and closed the curtain on an undefeated career at the World Championships.
Neville, once again the runner-up, walked away with three medals from London. His eight total podiums remain the most of any man never to win gold.
But this was Duvall’s swan song. And he exited the World Championship stage exactly as he had entered it—undefeated, unmatched, and unshakable when it mattered most.
Key Moment: Sometimes pictures speak louder than words.
Winning Margin: 24 points. Equivalent to two buoys in slalom.
Contenders: Kim De Macedo (CAN) vs. Natalia Rumjantseva (RUS)
The 1993 World Championships—the first ever held in Asia—are best remembered for the dramatic team battle between the U.S. and Canada, ultimately decided by a razor-thin margin. But quietly, on the brackish, tidal waters of Singapore, another race was unfolding: a down-to-the-wire overall showdown between a Russian veteran and an unheralded Canadian upstart.
Natalia Rumjantseva, already a three-time world trick champion, dominated the preliminary rounds and looked poised to claim her first overall title. With Karen Bowkett Neville and Deena Brush Mapple both retired, Rumjantseva’s closest challenge was expected to come from Canada’s Judy McClintock Messer—a perennial podium finisher in overall.
In the trick final, Messer closed the gap slightly as top-seeded Rumjantseva slipped to second behind Britt Larsen. But it wasn’t enough to seriously threaten the lead. Then came the jump final—where everything changed.
First off the dock was Olga Pavlova of Belarus, a complete unknown to western audiences. She stunned the field by leapfrogging Messer and moving into second overall. Messer responded with a clutch three-meter improvement of her own, reclaiming second—but still sat a meter and a half shy of Rumjantseva’s mark.
Enter Kim De Macedo.
Just 21 years old and added to Team Canada primarily for depth, the public lake skier from Vancouver Island delivered the jump of her life: 41.9 meters, the longest of the day. The performance vaulted her from a distant fourth into striking range of the title. Rumjantseva, skiing next, watched as the young Canadian came within an infinitesimal 0.7 overall points of overtaking her. As the computers whirred, the Russian veteran responded with a half-meter improvement—to put any doubts to bed.
Rumjantseva took the title. De Macedo settled for silver. But in a performance few saw coming, the Canadian walk-on very nearly rewrote the story.
Key Moment: De Macedo’s breakout jump, which earned her an unexpected gold in the event and nearly the overall title. It also proved decisive in Canada’s historic win in the team competition.
Winning Margin: 24 points. Equivalent to 60 centimeters, or two feet, in jump.
Natalia Rumjantseva (2,678 points)
Kim De Macedo (2,654 points)
Judy McClintock Messer (2,602 points)
The Battle of Bogotá
7. Bogotá, Colombia 1973
Contenders: Sylvia Maurial (FRA) vs. Lisa St. John (USA)
In the thin mountain air of Bogotá, the 13th World Water Ski Championships delivered one of the sport’s purest overall duels. Lisa St. John, the fresh-faced high school grad from Redding, California, faced off against France’s Sylvie Maurial, a seasoned veteran fresh off an Olympic gold medal in jump at the 1972 Games in Munich. The two women were virtually inseparable across all three events—trading leads, medals, and momentum in one of the closest overall contests in tournament history.
St. John struck first, edging Maurial by a single buoy in the slalom preliminary. Maurial responded in the final, running the only 14.25m (28-off) pass of the tournament to claim slalom gold. In tricks, St. John led Maurial by just 80 points in the prelim and extended that margin slightly to 130 in the final. On the jump ramp, Maurial struck back again, out-leaping St. John by just half a meter to take silver behind the USA’s Liz Allan Shetter.
When the dust settled and the points were tallied, St. John came out a hair ahead.
It was a heartbreaking near-miss for Maurial, and a career-defining victory for St. John. But tragically, the triumph in Bogotá would be her last major one. Ten days later, she suffered a back injury at the California Cup that effectively ended her run at the top. Her career had been a meteoric rise—from child prodigy to world champion—all before her 19th birthday.
Key Moment: The slalom preliminary, where St. John edged Maurial by a single buoy. Under the scoring rules of the time, only preliminary scores counted toward the overall race. Maurial’s final-round surge earned her slalom gold, but it came a round too late.
Winning Margin: 17 points. Equivalent to a single buoy in slalom.
Lisa St. John (2,534 points)
Sylvia Maurial (2,516 points)
Barbara Cleveland (2,149 points)
Image: Jaret Llewellyn
6. Calgary, Canada 2009
Contenders: Javier Julio (ARG) vs. Jaret Llewellyn (CAN) vs. Adam Sedlmajer (CZE)
In one of the most open overall fields in World Championships history, the 2009 edition in Calgary felt like a roll of the dice. At least five men had a legitimate shot at the title, and by the end of the prelims, three remained—one a grizzled legend, one a fresh-faced prodigy, and a come-from-behind victory for the ages.
Jimmy Siemers stormed out early with a strong trick score, chased closely by Belarusian teammates Herman Beliakou and Oleg Deviatovski. But the slalom event shuffled the deck. Both Adam Sedlmajer and Javier Julio ran midway through 10.75m (39.5 off), putting themselves a full pass ahead of most of the field and narrowly missing the slalom finals in a stacked eight-way runoff for the last two spots.
Then came jump. And with it, chaos.
Jaret Llewellyn, competing in front of a hometown crowd, launched the farthest leap of the prelims to vault himself into serious contention. Siemers and Beliakou misfired, effectively ending their campaigns. When the dust settled, Sedlmajer—a then-unknown 22-year-old from the Czech Republic—held a narrow overall lead over the 38-year-old Llewellyn heading into the finals.
Enter Javier Julio, the emotive Argentinian, skiing with nothing to lose.
First off the dock in tricks—in a final he had only just scraped into—Julio threw down more than 1,000 points over his prelim total, enough to move within striking distance of Sedlmajer and Llewellyn and put himself firmly in the conversation. Then in jump, again as one of the lowest seeds, he found two extra meters on his earlier score and took the overall lead outright.
From there, it was a waiting game. Sedlmajer couldn’t improve. And then came Llewellyn, last off the dock. He needed 70.3 meters to clinch overall gold. Coincidentally, that was the exact distance needed to steal the jump title from Freddy Krueger as well. The crowd held its breath.
But it wasn’t to be. Llewellyn’s best mark was 68.5 meters. A remarkable performance, but not quite enough. Julio, after three consecutive podium finishes earlier in the decade, had finally secured the one title that had always eluded him—claiming Argentina’s first world title.
In a curious twist, the 2009 World Championships were one of only a handful between 2007 and 2013 that used an overall scoring formula widely criticized for overweighting slalom. Under the system used for the previous five decades—or the one in place today—Llewellyn would have won comfortably. Instead, it was Julio who claimed gold: a deserving champion on the day, but one whose victory came in part thanks to a scoring system that has since been scrapped.
Key Moment: The men’s jump prelims were carnage—an outbreak of crashes ruled multiple skiers out of the finals. Had they advanced, Julio’s 200-foot leap likely wouldn’t have made the cut, leaving him out of the final—and out of the race.
Winning Margin: 15 points. Equivalent to a toe slide.
Javier Julio (2,773 points)
Adam Sedlmajer (2,758 points)
Jaret Llewellyn (2,739 points)
Image: WATERSKI Magazine
5. Toulouse, France 1985
Contenders: Sammy Duvall (USA) vs. Mick Neville (AUS) vs. Carl Roberge (USA)
The 1985 World Championships delivered a classic—a three-way standoff in men’s overall that mirrored the broader team competition, where Australia pushed the undefeated Americans closer than ever to surrendering their grip on the world title. And at the center of it all were three men, each with a distinct style and background: The brash confidence of Duvall, the imposing presence of Roberge, and the suave precision of Neville.
Duvall and Roberge were mainstays on the Coors Light Pro Tour, sharpening their slalom and jump in the crucible of professional competition. Neville, by contrast, was a throwback—a tricker first and foremost, still to this day the most decorated trick skier in Moomba Masters history. A relative unknown to international audiences, he arrived in Toulouse determined to prove he could match the pros at their own game.
Roberge struck first, claiming bronze in slalom behind Bob LaPoint and Andy Mapple, finishing two buoys clear of both Duvall and Neville. But Neville countered in tricks, scoring nearly 9,000 points to take bronze behind Patrice Martin and Cory Pickos, putting daylight between himself and the two Americans.
Heading into the jump final, Duvall had the edge. His prelim jump was over 10 feet farther than either rival—and he held a commanding lead in the overall. But the final was anything but predictable.
Neville, the bottom seed, stunned the crowd with a 54-meter leap—3.5 meters farther than his prelim score—to match Duvall’s earlier mark and snatch the lead. Then Roberge responded with a jump 10 feet farther than his qualifying mark, leapfrogging Duvall into second.
Suddenly, the two-time defending champion was sitting in third. His first two jumps didn’t move the needle. It came down to his final attempt. Duvall needed something special—and delivered. On his third and final jump, he unleashed the patented Duvall kick and soared past 184 feet, just enough to reclaim the lead and secure an unprecedented third consecutive World overall title.
Key Moment: Though overshadowed in the jump final by the aforementioned trio, a 21-year-old former trick specialist from France was in the silver medal position when Neville left the dock—perhaps a quiet foreshadowing of the decade of dominance to come.
Winning Margin: 11 points. Equivalent to one foot, or 30 centimeters, in jump.
Contenders: Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya (BLR) vs. Hanna Straltsova (BLR)
For a country that has quietly produced more elite overall skiers than any other in the past two decades, it was only fitting that the most dramatic battle of recent times came down to two Belarusians: Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya and Hanna Straltsova.
Danisheuskaya struck first, running deep into 11.25m (38 off) in slalom to take the early lead. But Straltsova punched back in jump, claiming a 2.6-meter (9-foot) advantage to finish the prelims with a commanding overall lead. When the dust settled on the elimination round, she held a 100-point lead over Canada’s Paige Rini in second, while Danisheuskaya sat nearly 200 points off the pace in third.
Then came tricks—and with it, a seismic shift.
Danisheuskaya had only just squeaked into the final, grabbing the last qualifying spot by just 20 points. But when the opportunity presented itself, she seized it. Upping her prelim score by nearly 1,000 points, she vaulted into the overall lead, narrowly ahead of Straltsova.
When Rini, Straltsova, and pre-event favorite Giannina Bonnemann all failed to improve in the final, it came down to jump.
Danisheuskaya, skiing from the middle of the pack, tacked on another 1.4 meters (5 feet) to her previous mark, extending her narrow lead. That left Straltsova—silver medalist in both overall and jump two years earlier—with one more chance. She needed 56.2 meters to claim gold.
She came heartbreakingly close. Her best jump, 55.5 meters (182 feet), was good enough for silver—for the fourth time across the 2019 and 2021 World Championships—but not quite enough to catch her teammate.
Danisheuskaya, who had not stood on the podium in any of the individual events, walked away with gold in the one that mattered most.
It would mark the final time either woman would represent Belarus. Four months later, the country was suspended from IWWF competition following its involvement in the invasion of Ukraine. Both Danisheuskaya and Straltsova would continue their careers under the U.S. flag—claiming medals, and in Straltsova’s case, dual golds—at the next World Championships.
Key Moment: Giannina Bonnemann, the world’s top-ranked overall skier entering the tournament, fell early on toes in both rounds of tricks. Had she scored anywhere near her best, she would have cruised to the title.
Winning Margin: 8 points. Only half a buoy in slalom.
Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya (2,574 points)
Hanna Straltsova (2,565 points)
Paige Rini (2,412 points)
Image: WATERSKI Magazine
3. West Palm Beach, United States 1989
Contenders: Patrice Martin (FRA) vs. Carl Roberge (USA)
In 1989, the World Championships returned to U.S. soil for the first time in 28 years, landing at Okeeheelee Park in West Palm Beach for what turned out to be a blockbuster event. The sport was arguably at its peak in American popularity—major sponsors like Pepsi and Coors Light were on board, and more than 15,000 spectators lined the banks for the final day of competition. The headline drama? A gripping men’s overall showdown between established star Carl Roberge and France’s relentless technician, Patrice Martin.
Roberge, 25, had long been the heir apparent—Sammy Duvall’s understudy, a three-time overall bronze medalist, and now the anchor of Team USA. He entered the event ranked number one in the world, with pro tour titles and a season championship already under his belt. Martin, meanwhile, had three world trick titles to his name and was steadily evolving into a true three-event threat. After flirting with the podium in both 1985 and 1987, the Frenchman arrived in Florida looking for more than tricks gold—he wanted the overall.
Roberge opened strong in slalom, his best event, matching Andy Mapple’s championship record of 3 @ 10.75m (39.5 off) to earn silver and establish a full-pass advantage over Martin. But Martin fired back in tricks with a tournament-record 10,780 in the prelims, more than offsetting Roberge’s edge. After the jump prelims, Roberge clung to a razor-thin lead overall—setting the stage for a winner-take-all final.
The jump event, Martin’s weakest, saw him go first. Le Petit Prince barely improved on his prelim mark, landing at 53.5 meters—just enough to inch into the lead and apply pressure. Roberge, one of the top jumpers in the world, needed just 56.7 meters (186 feet)—well short of his personal best and comfortably within his range.
But he never found it.
Three eerily similar jumps, each a little back on the ramp, left him stranded six points short. The crowd watched in stunned silence as the scoreboard confirmed the result: Martin, by the slimmest of margins.
Four years earlier in Toulouse, Martin had declared his intention to win the overall title. Now, on U.S. turf, he finally did—kicking off one of the greatest winning streaks in the history of the sport.
Key Moment: Trick judging at these championships was widely questioned—Cory Pickos called it “nearly incompetent,” and even medalists were surprised by their high scores. Would a stricter panel have swung the overall result the other way?
Winning Margin: 6 points. Less then a foot, a quarter meter, in jump.
Contenders: Jean-Marie Muller (FRA) vs. Bruno Zaccardi (ITA)
The VII World Water Ski Championship at Long Beach was a landmark event for the sport—both in spectacle and competition. It featured the most extensive television coverage water skiing had ever received, broadcast live to homes across the U.S., and drew thousands of spectators. The mile-and-a-quarter Marine Stadium, built for the 1932 Olympics, once again hosted a major international competition. Banners from 19 nations rippled in the breeze as ski parades, chorus lines, and a battery of television cameras surrounded an event marked by style, tension, and a shifting global balance of power.
Tournament skiing in 1961 bore little resemblance to today’s format. Men ran the slalom course at 60 kph (37.3 mph), ramp tricks were still common, and jumpers were judged not just on distance, but on style. In this hybrid of sport and performance, it was 18-year-old Italian Bruno Zaccardi who emerged victorious in the overall standings—though only just.
Zaccardi’s path to the title was a study in consistency. A middling slalom performance saw him qualify for the final but finish only seventh. But he bounced back in the trick and jump events, collecting bronze medals in both. Muller, the French standout, struck gold in tricks—France’s signature event even then—and matched Zaccardi closely in slalom, finishing just one buoy short. But the Italian’s advantage on the ramp proved decisive.
American hopes rested on defending champion Chuck Stearns, but an ankle injury sustained at the Nationals limited his impact. Though U.S. athletes won three of the eight gold medals and claimed the team title, Zaccardi’s triumph marked a turning point—the rise of Europe on the world stage. Coming off three consecutive European overall titles, his win in Long Beach confirmed his global credentials and hinted at a more competitive, international era ahead.
Key Moment: With a fierce cut and a forward-leaning air form, Zaccardi launched a personal best 42.6-meter (140-foot) leap that brought the crowd to its feet and sent his countrymen into hysterics before the distance was even announced. Though not the longest jump of the event—American Larry Penacho flew 45.7 meters—it was enough to secure Zaccardi’s historic overall win.
Winning Margin: 4 points—equivalent to a two-ski side-slide, something you would actually have seen at the ’61 Worlds.
Bruno Zaccardi (2,667 points)
Jean-Marie Muller (2,663 points)
A.J. Orsi, Jr. (2,547 points)
The tightest overall battle in World Championships history
1. Villach, Austria 1991
Contenders: Jaret Llewellyn (CAN) vs. Kreg Llewellyn (CAN) vs. Patrice Martin (FRA)
Patrice Martin entered the 1991 World Championships as the reigning overall champion, fresh off a dramatic victory over Carl Roberge two years earlier. Now 27, the French trick prodigy turned three-event star was at the peak of his powers. But with the 1980s titans fading, a new generation was knocking—including two brothers from rural Alberta, of all places.
The prelims set the tone. Martin emerged with a narrow lead, just 30 points ahead of 21-year-old Jaret Llewellyn, who had thrown himself into contention with a massive jump score. In the slalom finals, Martin—qualifying as the bottom seed—picked up two extra buoys to widen the gap. Then came tricks, where he claimed yet another world title—his fourth in the event—and solidified his lead.
But the biggest mover was Australia’s Mick Neville. The last of the old guard in overall, Neville delivered a huge final-round score to climb within striking distance of the title. Martin, having failed to make the jump final, could only sit and watch.
The numbers were clear. Martin led by 60 points over Jaret, and 90 over Neville. But it was the elder Llewellyn—Kreg—who turned the event on its head.
Skiing third off the dock, Kreg was known primarily for his tricks, where he’d picked up bronze earlier in the tournament—jumping was the weakest of his three events. But on this day, he uncorked the performance of his life, adding nearly four meters to his prelim mark and launching himself from fourth place to the cusp of an improbable world title. The result was so tight that when the spray settled, no one was sure who had won.
When the computers finished their work, it was Martin clinging to the lead by 0.2 overall points.
Neville, needing just two more meters, couldn’t find it. And Jaret, requiring the first 60-meter jump of his career, came up short. Martin, unshakable once again, had done just enough to defend his title. It would go down as the closest overall finish in the history of the World Championships.
Key Moment: Kreg’s massive leap—it earned him the jump bronze medal, and along with compatriot Jim Clunie’s finals performance, helped Team Canada secure its historic first-ever team victory. But it was 10 centimeters shy of the mark he needed for overall gold.
Winning Margin: 0.2 points. Equivalent to, well, nothing. Just enough for heartbreak.
The IWWF World Waterski Council has unanimously rejected Nautique’s late-stage proposal to debut its newly announced 2026 Ski Nautique at this year’s World Championships in Recetto, Italy.
The request came just days after Nautique unveiled its next-generation towboat — a lighter, sharper redesign billed as an “evolution of a true icon.” With flatter wakes, a refined hull, and integrated Zero Off enhancements, the 2026 model is being positioned as a new benchmark in three-event performance. Early impressions from Team Nautique athletes and independent skiers alike have been glowing, with slalomers praising “drastically better wakes” and reduced speed drop out of the turn.
But when Nautique Vice President Brian Sullivan made the pitch during a Masters meeting with IWWF President Jose Antonio, the council’s response was cautious. According to minutes from the May 29 meeting, delegates from all regions agreed the change would unfairly disadvantage athletes outside the U.S., particularly in Oceania and Latin America, where access to the new boat in time for training was unlikely.
“The new boat is completely different, making it unfair for athletes,” said athlete rep Valentina Gonzales, noting that many skiers would have just “two passes (official familiarization) to test the new boat before the Worlds.”
Though Nautique offered to ship three boats to Europe within a week, council members pointed out that large parts of the world — and much of the athlete field — would be left without meaningful prep time.
Athlete chair Martin Kolman was more blunt: if Nautique wanted the boat used at Worlds, “they should have informed the waterski community in a timely manner.” Instead, the request came days after the launch — and just three months before the sport’s flagship event.
For now, the current Ski Nautique — introduced in 2019 and entering its final year of production — will remain in use. And while that may frustrate some, it aligns with the spirit of fair play: the playing field must come first.
Whether Nautique misread the timing or bet too heavily on post-launch momentum, one thing is clear — for all the engineering ambition the new boat represents, it arrived a season too late.
And perhaps, with more riding on this launch than meets the eye. Nautique’s long-held position as the exclusive towboat supplier for IWWF events is set to expire at the end of the year. Rumors have surfaced that Malibu — long absent from the international scene — could take over the contract beginning in 2026. If true, the 2026 Ski Nautique may never get the chance to pull a World Championships.
That’s not just a missed debut. It’s a boatload of R&D with nowhere to run.
The names are in. The roster is set. And for the first time in nearly two decades, Team USA will head to the Open World Championships with a male overall skier in the lineup.
The American Water Ski Association’s International Activities Committee has announced the six athletes who will represent the United States at the 2025 IWWF Open World Championships in Recetto, Italy, from August 26–31:
Jake Abelson
Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya
Kennedy Hansen
Regina Jaquess
Freddy Krueger
Erika Lang
It’s a loaded team—experienced, decorated, and packed with world records—but the headline is 17-year-old Jake Abelson, the first male overall skier selected for Team USA since Jimmy Siemers in 2009. It’s been almost as long as Abelson has been alive.
Since Siemers’ retirement, men’s overall has been America’s Achilles’ heel—despite a steady pipeline of overlooked talent. Abelson, the breakout trick skier of 2025, with rapidly improving jump and reliable slalom scores, could signal a long-overdue shift.
Another standout addition is Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya, the 2021 World Overall Champion—then skiing for Belarus. She’s now under the U.S. banner, having lived and trained stateside for over a decade and recently marrying American jumper Taylor Garcia.
Her inclusion raises eyebrows—not for lack of pedigree, but because of her international path. Danisheuskaya was among a group of Belarusian athletes who switched affiliations after the IWWF banned Russian and Belarusian skiers in response to the war in Ukraine. In 2023, she and Hanna Straltsova competed under the USA Water Ski & Wake Sports (USAWSWS) umbrella in a legal gray zone that blurred nationality rules. With the ban now lifted and new eligibility procedures in place, Danisheuskaya’s spot on Team USA is both official and, from a competitive standpoint, a major asset.
Alongside her are legends still at the top of their game. Regina Jaquess remains an ageless force. Erika Lang is a perennial threat. Freddy Krueger, now in his 50s, continues to fly farther than athletes half his age. And Kennedy Hansen—one of the sport’s best young all-arounders—brings team balance and three-event reliability.
It’s a squad built not just to defend the world team title reclaimed in 2023—but to do it with depth and purpose.
Standing in their way, however, is the most consistently dominant team of the modern era: Canada. Led by Dorien Llewellyn and Paige Rini Pigozzi, their ceiling is as high as any—if their health and form hold. Dorien, once trading records with Joel Poland, is still working back to his best after a major injury. Paige, an elegant slalomer and capable tricker and jumper, hasn’t competed much in overall since the 2023 Worlds.
If they’re sharp, the Canadians will be hard to beat.
France, Great Britain, and Australia are all podium threats as well—though none may have the six-skier depth to match the U.S. or Canada across all events.
But for Team USA, this isn’t just about the podium. This roster represents something bigger: a return to the formula that once made them untouchable. From the 1950s to the early ’90s, the U.S. never lost a team title. Since then, they’ve won just 7 of 17. The gap? Often, it’s been men’s overall.
Jake Abelson might not win gold in Recetto. But his selection is a signal—of belief, of change, of remembering what built a dynasty in the first place.
Team titles aren’t won with six individual stars. They’re won with balance. With skiers who fight for every point in every event. With teams that feel—not just strong—but complete.
This one finally does.
Let the countdown begin.
Independent perspectives on tournament water skiing
