– Cold, but very fun, says the 16-year-old to NRK, as she is on her way to the airport to get home to Norway and everyday life at Gvarv.
She has good reason to be proud.
Elisabeth Røyneberg on top of the podium in Belgium after the weekend’s championships.
Photo: Private
The International Sports Federation for Water Skiing and Wakeboarding now ranks her as the best in the world in her class.
Must deliver a lot in a short time
The competition, with participants from all over the world, took place in Knokke heist in Belgium this weekend.
A minute and a half was the time the athletes had to impress the judges with spectacular tricks at thirty kilometers an hour.
It requires its woman.
And Røyneberg was the best of all in his class.
Elisabeth Røyneberg impresses. Here from a previous competition.
Photo: Private
– You don’t have much time. It is important to perform as well as possible, whether it is tricks in the air, jumps or “rails”, she explains.
Briefly, wakeboarding is a sport that originates from surfing, but is also similar to snowboarding.
She has been involved in the sport for the past five years, and quickly became good.
Cold start
It was a cool start to the season for Røyneberg and the other athletes.
Because, as the name suggests, the “Cold Water Classic” is a competition of the colder kind.
Sideways in the air, just the way she likes it.
Photo: Private
– That makes the competition quite a bit more difficult. You become much stiffer than if the water is warm, says the 16-year-old.
She spends most of her free time on the board when the weather permits in the summer months.
The activities usually take place at Akkerhaugen on Norsjø at home in Norway, close to the village where she lives.
There are many wakeboarders there, but elsewhere in the country the sport is relatively small when it comes to competitive driving.
Elisabeth Røyneberg during the EC in Hungary, autumn 2023. There she finished 6th.
Photo: Private
Wakeboarding is very similar to snowboarding in terms of competition form and tricks.
– It’s actually snowboarding on water. Unfortunately, there is no major sport in this country at the moment, says Røyneberg, who himself is a four-time Norwegian champion.
Last year she took second place in the WC in London.
After this weekend’s competition, she is therefore ranked number one in the world, in the class for girls under 18 years of age.
Elisabeth Røyneberg is at the top of the ranking of the international sports federation for water skiing and wakeboarding.
– I hope to be able to do this for many years to come, says the great talent, before she has to hurry off to catch the plane home.
Tags: Elisabeth wreaks havoc wakeboarding NRK Vestfold Telemark Local news radio
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