A 20-year Career of Consistent Trick Runs

Britt Larsen won Women’s world tricks titles in 1993 and 1997 and was a three-time Masters’ champion and three-time U.S. Open champion.

 “Winning the Worlds in Singapore in 1993 was the most amazing moment for me,” Larsen recalled upon learning she would be inducted into the American Water Ski Educational Foundation’s Water Ski Hall of Fame alongside her twin sister, Tawn. “But it wasn’t winning the Worlds that made it so memorable; it was all of the sacrifices and hard work that went into it. When I thought about those things after winning the Worlds, it just made it such a huge moment in my life.”

 From the time Britt and Tawn were 6, their father, Brent, had them behind a boat. Everyday, on a small private lake called Lake Harriet in Madison, Wis., Brent would work with the girls for hours and hours, teaching them new tricks and honing their old ones. They trained about 150 days a year; Brent’s goal was for each to practice between 400 and 600 hours per year. He kept meticulous notes of every single practice for more than 10 years. “I can tell you the first time each one did a flip or cut time off a tricks run; I kept those like clockwork,” Brent Larsen said. “Practice has to be a way of life – a part of life that you look forward to.”

 Larsen, known throughout her 20-year career for her consistent tricks runs, practiced what her father preached, and like her sister, she experienced enormous success on the water as a result. In six appearances at the Water Ski World Championships between 1989 and 1997, Larsen earned two gold medals, two silver medals and two bronze medals.

 Larsen also won the 1981 national Junior Girls’ tricks title and the national Open Women tricks title in 1984, 1987 and 1990.  She won the U.S. Open title in 1987, 1994 and 1997, and finished runner-up five times. Her most decorated year came in 1993 when she won the first of three consecutive Masters’ titles, finished runner-up at the U.S. Open, earned a spot on the U.S. Elite Water Ski Team, won the world title and was named USA Water ski’s Female Athlete of the Year.

 At the time of her induction, Larsen was living in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, with her husband, Jeremy Kovak, and their two daughters.