Jamie McDonald flies off the ramp at the 2007 World Disabled Water Ski Championships in Townsville on the weekend, where he recorded his fourth world title.By Marc McGowan
NARRE Warren disabled water skier Jamie McDonald crowned his magnificent career on the weekend by winning his fourth world title in his division at the world championships in Townsville.
McDonald, 42, was also victorious in 1999, 2001 and 2005.
He told the News in February that the event would be his swansong, but the quality of his performance has made him have second thoughts.
“I’m going to have a break for a month or so and not even think about it,” the Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship-holder said.
“At this stage, I’ve got the feeling I want to keep going.”
To top off his achievements, McDonald won the overall individual bronze medal, which was the first time he has achieved the feat.
“It’s still freaking me out. It was a pretty big surprise,” he said.
“I thought I had a slight chance, but I doubted it very much – I wouldn’t have even put five bucks on it!”
The overall total is calculated by using a factoring system that takes the athlete’s score as a percentage of the world record in their particular disability.
On the strength of McDonald’s stellar effort, Australia won the silver medal at the world championships for the first time against 14 other countries.
It says much about McDonald that he was just as chuffed at the way his bronze medal was received by the other competitors as he was about actually winning it.
“That was one of the biggest buzzes.
“To not just hear your team-mates cheering, but hear people from Britain and America too, that was pretty special,” McDonald, who is a film technician at a motion picture film lab, said.
This camaraderie between rivals is a feature of disabled water skiing and a major reason McDonald is having so much trouble giving it away competitively.
“It is the whole vibe of going to the world championships. There’s just something about it,” he said.
“You get to meet all the people from the other countries that you haven’t seen for a couple of years and the water skiing environment really pulls you in.”
McDonald’s introduction to the sport came after he suffered a cerebral haemorrhage at the age of 22.
A friend read an article about disabled water skiing star Steve Davies and convinced McDonald to take down the number that featured in the magazine.
“I was very sporty before the cerebral haemorrhage and I just eventually got into (disabled water skiing),” McDonald said.
“I went up and watched the world championships in 1995 and it sucked me right in.”
The continuation of McDonald’s career will come down to financial factors and the fact athletes are a long time retired.
“Giving away the whole environment of competing against the best in world will be tough,” he said.
“I’ll keep skiing with friends, but I’ll miss getting judged and bettering everything that little bit further and knowing I’ve improved.”
