PAN AM GAMES: CANADA BEATS US DREAM TEAM By Vern Oberg, President, Water Ski Canada Some of the best water skiers in the world competed in the 95 Pan American Games in Argentina. The water ski worlds #1 team vs. the #2 team! What a showdown, what a spectacle and the 20,000 odd fans who lined the shore (even during practice!) got to see the best in action. Canada, coming off of two consecutive World Championship team titles, was set to match the US Dream Team; this was no ordinary competition, as far as these skiers were concerned, this was the Olympics and they were pumped. The Canadian Team consisted of Kreg Llewellyn - back from a knee injury that sidelined him for 18 months, Jaret Llewellyn, Jim Clunie and Kim deMacedo - fresh from successful ventures at the Moombas in Australia. Rounding off the team were Susi Graham (World Slalom Record Holder) and Drew Ross - both Ontarians. Backstopping Team USA was Sherri Sloan, Tawn Larsen and Tory Baggiano and newcomers Carl Roberge, Sammy Duvall and Deena Mapple. Whoa, who are we kidding here! You know this tournament is important when those three world famous skiers get into the game! The preliminaries started out in heavy winds making it a bit rough at one end of the course. The Womens event ended with Graham powered her way to a first round lead with 5 buoys on a 12 meter line, followed closely by Mapple (2 buoys @ 12m) and deMacedo with 3.5 @ 13m. In Men's Slalom, there were some surprises. Duvall bailed on his first pass - tail wind got him. Ross scraped into the finals edging Jaret Llewellyn by half a buoy! Jorge Renosto of Argentina edged his countryman, Javier Julio by 1/2 buoy to place third and Kreg Llewellyn smoothly stroked 4 @ 12m (in the same tail wind that felled Duvall) to place second. Roberge was a sight as he grabbed the lead with 2 @ 11.25m. The stage was set for the two slalom finals: 4 Canadians and only 2 Americans qualified! In the trick event, it was a flipping good time as the competitors cautiously wended their way to ensure they would get into the finals. In the end, it was Larsen (6250 points), deMacedo (5720) and Sloan (4880) in Women's and Baggiano (9800), Jaret Llewellyn (8890) and Sergio Font of Mexico (8870) in the Men's. Font lost a ski line 7 back (SL7B) at the end of his run - out of time. In Women's Jump prelims, Sloan flew 37.4m to lead the pack followed by deMacedo (36.8) and Mexicos Andrea Gaytan (29.1m). In the Men's jump, it was wake up time as Roberge powered his way to a spectacular 60.4 m (201) jump - it was fine!!! Duvall was next at 57.9 and Jaret with 57.5 followed closely by Jumpin Jim Clunie at 57.2. Not bad for the first day, eh? Saturday, March 25, 1995 - the Canadian Team held a good lead over Team USA but with this level of competition, things could change quickly. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife! Just to make things interesting, after the first skier had finished her slalom run, the wind blew over the water judging tower along with two pokey old officials. We quickly regrouped on a building on the other side of the lake and the event proceeded. DeMacedo added a half buoy to her prelim score to take the lead but next out was Mapple who showed the world what she can do when she's hot! She tied Grahams prelim score, 5 @ 12m to up the pressure. It was too much for Graham on this blustery day as she dropped down a couple of buoys short but fought all the way! Mapple - Gold, Graham -Silver, and deMacedo - Bronze. Canada had two medals already! In Men's Slalom, not much changed, Roberge - Gold, Kreg - Silver, Jorge Renosto - Bronze. But, when Roberge knew he won the Gold, he was jumping around on his ski like a little boy out there - man he was one happy camper - even a little tic tac for the crowd when he came in! In Womens Tricks, an upset was in the making but Larsen held her lead and deMacedo added a silver medal to her growing collection. But, Sloan had a difficult first pass allowing Lorena Botana of Argentina with a flawless run to slip onto the podium for the bronze medal. Boy, there were some happy faces in the Argentine camp after that one! It was showdown time for Men's Tricks: Baggiano, Jaret Llewellyn and Font - all capable of 10,000+ runs fighting it out. Font lost his rhythm but still ran 8800. Llewellyn looked like he flubbed his first pass missing a few tricks but did he ever make it up on his last pass - 5, count em, 5 wake flips - backwards, twists and a front at the end to power his way to 9960 points. The pressure was on for Baggiano and he buckled - gaining just 8920 to edge out Font. Canada had it's first Gold!!! cont on next page The crowd on the other side of the lake were now hanging from the trees to get a better view of the jump event. And, with every jump you could hear them scream their approval. The women were first and the battle was between Sloan and deMacedo. DeMacedo was second last seed and she thrilled the crowd with a 40.8m leap - a beauty! The pressure was on for Sloan but on her last jump, she threw body and heart into a 41.7m leap to take the Gold. Gaytan took the Bronze. Heh! DeMacedo just won 3 medals - one bronze and two silver - the most that anyone received! Then came the men - Clunie upped his preliminary score to take the lead but Jaret Llewellyn, Duvall and Roberge were left to go. Llewellyn - man this guy was on a mission - rocketed off the ramp and flew 60.1m putting heavy pressure on the big boys. Then it was Duvalls turn, the crowd's focus turns to the little engine that could - Duvall - World Jump Record Holder. First jump - a boomer but not quite - got a rerun anyway and did better. Second jump - squashed it! Last jump, we were on the edge of our seats - he screamed at the ramp - he got no lift, Llewellyn was still in the lead. Duvall was now second with a 58.5m jump. Now, it's Mr. No Fear himself - Carl Roberge - he got a 61.4m jump under his belt - no sweat. The Canadians were hopping around with every effort. One more jump to go - Llewellyn was still in the lead - Roberge kicks a beauty! The crowd is hushed, waiting for the Technocrats to view the video jump measurement system - 59.4m - Llewellyn is the Pan Am Jump Champion and two time gold medal winner!!! I'll tell you, you had to be there. These were glorious moments in our water skiing history. Canada took home 3 gold, 4 silver and a single bronze including the Team Overall competing against one of the strongest US teams in a decade. When those anthems were played and the medals given out, some skiers openly wept with joy. It was a thrill to be there - a lifetime memory - to see your sport attain a recognition that it so richly deserves and then to watch your own countrymen succeed beyond your wildest imagination. You want to see it again? Promote water skiing so that it will be included in the 99 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg. See you there....