Thrills, Jumps and Ceremony: Day 2 Highlights from Recetto

The competition heated up in Recetto on an action-packed second day full of thrills and emotions. As we wait for the discipline’s top favorites to hit the water, the Men’s Slalom leaderboard is currently led by American Blaze Grubbs and Chilean Gustavo Kretschmer, both scoring 5 buoys at 10.75m. Will that be enough to stay in the Top 12 and qualify for the final? Meanwhile, Italy’s Vittoria Saracco, fresh U21 European Champion, is tied for first place in the Women’s Slalom with 2 buoys at 11.25m.

In Jump, 34 male skiers have taken their turn so far. Leading the field with a spectacular 67.1m leap – and an equally memorable celebration captured on video – is Brandon Schipper. Italy’s Vincenzo Marino currently sits in 8th place with a jump of 58.3m. In Women’s Jump it’s a tight three-way battle between Mariia Popova (40.1m), Zuzana Oravcova (38.1m), and Harue Kamila (37.5m)

Trick skiing also kicked off yesterday, where skiers perform a series of acrobatic maneuvers behind the boat’s wake. Florian Parth is the only Italian on the water so far, finishing 4th with a score of 5640. Out in front is Ukraine’s Stepan Shpak with 8830 points, which should secure him a spot in the final

In the evening, the Opening Ceremony lit up the Broletto, the medieval palace in the heart of Novara. Against this stunning backdrop, 33 nations paraded together with the public and local institutions – celebrating the moment despite the heavy rain 🥂

The show of the World Open Waterski Championships continues live on the @waterskibroadcasting_ YouTube channel. Stay tuned.