Hometown water-skier breaks world record

While everyone else was celebrating 150 years last Saturday (July 1), water-skier Ryan Dodd was celebrating 77.4 metres. The hometown boy, who learned his skill on a farm pond east of Olds, set the world record for the water-skiing jump event in Palm Bay, Fla.

"It was definitely the jump of a lifetime," said Dodd. "Super excited to break the record, and even cooler on Canada Day."

Jumping is one of three events in the sport, along with slalom and trick water-skiing. Athletes are towed behind a boat, hitting speeds of up to 70mph, and pulling up to 500 pounds of pressure on the rope, before swinging around in pendulum fashion toward a ramp, using the acceleration to generate more speed for the jump.

Dodd snatched the record, held for 15 years by American Freddy Krueger, on his second jump of three, after tying the Canadian national record and his personal best on the first.

"I've been jumping professionally for 15 years, always with a goal of breaking the world record," said Dodd, "and this is the first time I've ever done it."

He credits that success to learning about balance, efficiency and understanding the physics behind the jump.

"You always think you need to do more to achieve more and it's actually just really simplifying it," he said, "using our brains to understand what's really going to make us go farther, and focusing on that, versus just trying to get bigger and stronger and do more."

Dodd said he had planned last year to compete in the non-pro event, since it was being hosted by the community where he lives and trains. But a month out, he said it occurred to him that breaking the record might be within his reach.

"I've been skiing really well and I've been more fit than I've ever been, and lighter and stronger ñ I just had a really good feeling about it," he said. "I was like, this might be real; this might be the time."

So he went into the event with the intent of breaking the record.

"It's probably the first time in my life that I've ever done that, just said, hey I am going to walk in with this as a goal," he said. "I did, and it actually worked out."

Even with that goal on his mind, Dodd said he didn't change up anything in his training or preparation.

"The cool thing with what I do is that, whether I am at a competition or home or on a holiday, I pretty much have the same routine," he said. "I wake up, I do yoga every morning, I eat the same breakfast. I do the exact same thing for the first two hours of the day."

"The only difference this day was that I went over to the lake after my routine," he said, "and the next thing you know ñ it's like waking up from a dream ñ I had the world record."

The record must now be verified by the international governing body, which Dodd expects to happen over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, he was back on home turf this past weekend (July 8ñ9), to compete in the Alberta Waterskiing provincials, which were hosted on Dodd Pond, the water-filled coulee on the farm where his dad Bruce ñ a national champion water skier himself ñ taught him to ski. While it wasn't one of the professional, international, cash-prize events in which he normally competes, he says it gives him the chance to motivate and inspire other people.

"It's nice to go back to this ñ it's where I started ñ and ski with some of the local kids and meet new up-and-comers and help out and connect with where I came from."

In early September, Dodd will head to Paris for the World Championships, and attempt to defend his 2015 title.

"I'm trying not to really look at the competition ñ I am just trying to do what I do and get better," said Dodd. "And if I do that it usually works out well."