WATER SKIING
There are a lot of similarities between Jack Harrison and Ellen Jones.
They have known each other around the water skiing traps since they first took to the water. They are roughly the same age, they are in the same year at school and they dedicate hours of hard work to their sport.
And now they are world champions.
The Hawkesbury skiers were crowned world champions at the 19th World Water Ski Championships in New Zealand, taking out the junior boys’ and girls’ titles in Wellington a fortnight ago.
Harrison, 17, defended the crown he won in Tenerife in 2013 while Jones, 16, bettered her second place finish from two years ago.
The year 11 students had their respective titles all but wrapped up on the third of four competition days in Wellington after outstanding performances in the early races.
Be Polding student Harrison said it was a relief to have kept his title.
“I don’t know, it’s hard to explain,” he said.
“It’s a good feeling I suppose. Just relief really.”
Jones, from East Kurrajong, said she had put hours of training into the result.
“I guess it’s all paid off, which is good,” she said.
“Leading up to the worlds it was every day pretty much and on the water twice a week.
“It was good to go one better this time...better than coming second.”
The pair have already set their sights on the 2017 world championships in Seattle and a step up to the Formula 2 class.
“I’ll probably have to step it up a bit more,” Jones said.
“There will be more competition.”
There were five Hawkesbury skiers in action at the championships with Harrison’s good friend Cameron Osborne finishing third in the junior boys’ division.
Rachel Stapleton fell in her final race to fall agonisingly short of Kelsey Feros in the F2 category while Jake Tegart finished fourth in the open men’s division.
Like in 2013, Australia won all six classes.
Peter Proctor won the open men’s title while Ben Gulley claimed the men’s F2 championship.
Leanne Campbell was named open women’s champion from New Zealander Adelaide Cox.