Waterskier finishes third in Moomba Masters

High flier: Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah in action during the tricks event at the Moomba Masters. — Yen Suen

PETALING JAYA: A shaky start wasn’t enough to knock Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah off her skis as the national waterskier clinched the final podium spot at the Moomba Masters.

Following a poor show in the slalom on Yarra River in Melbourne on Saturday, the 20-year-old stepped her game up in the tricks and jump events.With only the top six finishers in the tricks event moving on to the final, Aaliyah snagged the final spot with 5030 points in the preliminary round, but could only manage an equal points performance in the final that saw her finishing in sixth as well.

In the jump event, Aaliyah’s execution of 44.5m in the preliminary round saw her making it to the final and her score of 44.7m was enough for her to finish in fifth position.

Together with her slalom points of 733.33, Aaliyah came in third place overall with a combined result of 2215.25 points, behind Australia’s Sade Ferguson (2477.89) in second and Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya (2911.11) from the United States in first. Aaliyah was satisfied with taking third on the podium but said she could’ve done better if she had more time to prepare for her 11th appearance in the tournament.

“I’m thrilled to be able to secure the overall podium third. Realistically, for me to climb the podium in tricks or jump can only happen if my training is on an intensive basis,” she said.

“But I could not afford to do as much training in the past six months due to my university studies and exams.

“I will keep doing my best and aim to eventually be among the world’s top-ranked waterski athletes in the near future,” she said.

Aaliyah’s campaign was an overall success, as she was also the Malaysian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation appointed coach for her younger brothers Aiden and Adam, who competed in the Junior Moomba event, finishing sixth and 10th respectively in the tricks category. Open

Men: 1. Tobias Giorgis (Arg) 2732.78; 2. Edoardo Marenzi (Ita) 2585.26; 3. Archie Davis (Aus) 2567.74; 4. Pol Duplan-Fribourg (Fra) 2070.

Women: 1. Aliaksandra Danisheuskaya (US) 2911.11; 2. Sade Ferguson (Aus) 2477.89; 3. Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah 2215.25; 4. Kristy Appleton (Aus) 2016.67; 5. Lara Butlin (Aus) 1920.51; 6. Sanchia Outram (Gbr) 1920.19; 7. Layne Moroney (Aus) 1563.51.