BRENDAN LINES
MORGAN water skier Josh Wallent landed his fourth Australian men’s open ski jumping crown at the national championships held at Mulwala, NSW over the Easter weekend.
Wallent retained his crown after previous wins in 2016, 2017 and 2019.
In the first round, Wallent jumped 58.6 metres which put him in the box seat for the final.
The high-flying Wallent out-jumped his opponents by nearly three meters, after landing a 62.1 metre jump in the final.
Wallent’s best jump put him ahead of the ACT’s Archie Davis (58.3 metres) in second place and Queensland’s Scott Reeves (53.2 metres) in third.
Wallent said the pressure was on when he was unable to post a competitive first jump.
“I didn’t quite get the win on the first jump, so it took my second jump to win,” he said.
“They put out some great scores and the pressure was on for sure.
“It was perfect conditions, so I knew I could put a big score out there. And I was lucky enough to go out there and do so.”
Wallent backed up his aerial efforts by competing in the slalom and trick events across the weekend. His combined score placed him second in the overall three-event competition.
After last year’s event was cancelled due to COVID-19, Wallent said the win was a good reward for persisting over the break.
“It’s been tough training and having events cancelled,” he said.
“Not being able to travel where I’d usually and see coaches, it’s been tough to train by myself.
“There’s no coaches for me here in South Australia, so I’ve had to be coached over video coaching.”
Meanwhile a contingent of 10 Riverland-based junior skiers competed at the event notching top-10 finishes for Makaidie Mitchell (under 10), Jessica Martin, Stella Thomas, Fyn Mitchell (under 14), and Demi Flaherty (under 17).