Alberta water-skier sets record for longest jump
Ryan Dodd was 10 years old when his father built a water-ski venue on the family’s farm near Olds.
“He actually dammed up a creek on our pasture and it turned into a pretty decent water-ski venue/ cattle water facility,” Dodd recalls.
“So the cows had water and we could ski and I grew up spending every day, all day, all summer down there training.”
Dodd started water-skiing professionally as part of the national team for Canada when he was 16, which is when he started dreaming about setting a world record in the sport.
The 32-year-old achieved that on Canada Day, setting the pending water-ski world jump record when he jumped 254 feet (77.4 metres).
“I’ve been chasing this for I guess half my life and I’ve held the Canadian record now for a few years and kind of the driving force has always been a world record,” Dodd says.
“Everything kind of came together and it’s finally real, so it’s hard to describe but it’s a pretty amazing feeling.”
The achievement hit close to home: the record-breaking jump took place in Dodd’s community of Palm Bay, Fla., where he now lives and trains most of the year.
“I live on a man-made water-ski lake community, and we host pretty major events at our site,” he says. “So I actually broke the record in my backyard — the jump’s right in front of my house. So it was just like a normal morning but in a tournament, and come home for breakfast and you’ve got a world record.”
The previous jump record was set by American Freddy Krueger 12 years ago.
“I’ve known it was possible for the last few years and it’s finally come together and even cooler it was on Canada Day,” he says.
Dodd achieved his jump behind the Nautique boat, which he describes as the strongest, fastest boat for jumping.
After setting the new record, Dodd is currently back in Canada, coaching at a training camp in Saskatchewan.
This weekend, Dodd’s father, a former national champion waterskier himself, is hosting the provincial water-ski championships just outside Olds.
And in August, Dodd will return to his home province for the Canadian national championships.
“It’s really exciting, because that’s where it all started and where it came from, so there’s a lot of good feelings and memories and to connect back with your roots makes you feel good and I can’t wait,” Dodd says.
Having achieved his world record dream, Dodd next has his sights set on the world championships in Paris in August.
“I won the last world championships and my goal is just to be ready for that and give it another shot,” he says.