Four U.S. Athletes Win Gold Medals At 11th World Games

Adam Pickos won the gold medal in men's tricks at the 2022 World Games.

Four athletes representing USA Water Ski & Wake Sports won gold medals in respective events at the 11th World Games, July 14-16, at Oak Mountain State Park in Birmingham, Ala. The World Games, first held in 1981, is an international multi-sport event meant for sports that are not contested in the Olympics. The water ski program consists of three-event water skiing (slalom, tricks and jumping) and wakeboarding.

The participating athletes – who compete solely for individual medals – were selected by the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation based on world rankings and availability. U.S. athletes who were selected to participate were Taylor Garcia (Winter Garden, Fla.), men’s jumping; Anna Gay (Winter Garden, Fla.), women’s tricks; Regina Jaquess (Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.), women’s slalom; Tarah Mikacich (Orlando, Fla.), women’s wakeboarding; Taylor McCullough (Centralia, Ill.), women’s wakeboarding; Lauren Morgan (St. Louis, Mo.), women’s jumping; Jake Pelot (Orlando, Fla.), men’s wakeboarding; Adam Pickos (Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.), men’s tricks; and Nate Smith (McCordsville, Ind.), men’s slalom.

Jaquess won the women’s slalom gold medal, scoring 6 buoys at 38 feet off in the finals. Canada’s Jaimee Bull earned the silver (3 buoys at 38 feet off) and Germany’s Geena Krueger earned the bronze (2 buoys at 38 feet off).

Smith won the men’s slalom gold medal, scoring 5 buoys at 39-1/2 feet off in the finals. Italy’s Brando Caruso earned the silver (1-1/2 buoys at 39-1/2 feet off) and Canada’s Cole McCormick earned the bronze (4-1/2 buoys at 38 feet off).

Pickos won the men’s tricks gold medal, scoring 11,290 points in the finals. Ukraine’s Danylo Filchenko earned the silver (11,140 points) and France’s Pierre Ballon earned the bronze (10,760 points).

Morgan won the gold medal in women’s jumping with a distance of 173 feet. Canada’s Taryn Grant earned the silver (164 feet) and Chile’s Valentina Gonzalez earned the bronze (153 feet).

Gay earned the silver medal in women’s tricks, scoring 9,190 points in the finals. Canada’s Neilly Ross won the gold (9,690 points) and Malaysia’s Aaliyah Hanifah Yoong earned the bronze (7,960 points).

Garcia earned the silver medal in men’s jumping with a distance of 210 feet. Ukraine’s Danylo Filchencko won the gold (213 feet) and Argentina’s Tobias Giorgis earned the bronze (204 feet).

McCullough earned the bronze medal in women’s wakeboarding (56.22 points). Japan’s Hinata Yoshihara won the gold (67.11 points) and Argentina’s Eugenia De Armas earned the silver (61.67 points). Mikacich placed fifth (49.89 points).

Australia’s Nic Rapa won the gold medal in men’s wakeboarding (95.22 points). Italy’s Stefano Comollo earned the silver (84.89 points) and France’s Maxime Roux earned the bronze (84.56 points). Pelot did not advance to the finals.

Final water ski results: http://www.iwwfed-ea.org/classic/22USA003/. Final wakeboarding results: http://www.iwwfed-ea.org/boatwake/22USA004/,

Held every four years, the World Games is organized and governed by the International World Games Association, under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee. For more information on the 11th World Games, visit https://twg2022.com/.