PUTRAJAYA – Water-skier Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah is on track for a podium finish after reaching the finals of the jump and slalom event at the World Under-21 Championships in Boca Laguna, Mexico.
The 19-year-old, who is now based in the United States where she attends Florida Southern College, kept her cool as she leapt to a distance of 44.6m yesterday, the day before she got into the slalom final after a nail-biting tiebreaker run.
The jump was just shy of her personal best distance of 47.2m but it was good enough to place her in third spot.
Chile’s Agustina Varas was first with a distance of 47.2m while American Kennedy Hansen was second with 44.8m.
Additionally, the multiple SEA Games gold medallist also made a surprise entry into the final of the slalom event.
Aaliyah finished on a 3.5/55kmh/12m attempt to be placed joint 12th alongside Argentina’s Violeta Mociulsky and Australia’s Lara Butlin.
But she came back and pipped the pair to the 12th and final spot for the final after managing 4/55kmh/12, equalling her personal best, in the tiebreaker.
Mociulsky and Butlin both fell short after managing 3.5/55kmh/12 and 2.5/55kmh/12 respectively.
It was certainly an impressive feat as Aaliyah is 25th in the world Under-21 rankings for slalom.
The strong showing in jump and slalom means Aaliyah certainly has a shot of finishing not only on the jump podium but also at the overall podium at a world meet for the first time as she heads into the finals.
Her surprising performances in jump and slalom certainly made up for the disappointment she suffered in her pet event, tricks.
Then she could only manage a score of 3,480 and placed 18th after a fall in her first trick in her second pass to miss out on the final.
“I’m definitely pleased to reach the final of the jump event and even more so for the slalom event,” said Aaliyah.
“It was a huge disappointment for me to miss out on tricks but I’ll have to seriously review my training strategy for the three events that I’m doing.
“I believe I still have a chance for medals in jump and overall and I’ll give it my best shot in the finals,” she added. – The Vibes, June 17, 2023
