David O’Caoimh, 16, from Killiney, has just returned from the EA (Europe/ Africa) Wakeboard Championships in Fagersta, Sweden where he delivered an outstanding performance and won the Silver Medal in the Junior Men division (age 15-19). There were 17 countries represented in this category and 29 athletes.
David has been wakeboarding for 6 years having taken up water-skiing at the age of five. He regularly trains all year round at Lough Sillan in Cavan but this year the 16 year old, who attends St. Andrew’s College in Booterstown, took advantage of Transition Year and spent the month of January training with his coach in South Africa. Then, following an emergency appendicectomy, which only kept him off the water for 7 days, David moved to Florida with his Mum and spent a further three months training both behind the boat and on obstacles at the cable parks in Orlando. Whilst there, David was spotted by O’Brien, a major wakeboard company and signed as an international rider. He is the only Irish rider sponsored internationally by a major board company and the only European rider on the O’Brien team.
Prior to leaving Orlando, David competed in the Junior Men division at the Nautique Wake Games and achieved 1st place. He also took the Gold Medal in the Pro Men division of the Irish National Wakeboarding Championships earlier this month.
The youngster is a qualified Wakeboard and Waterski instructor and has coached a lot this season, including a week at Loch Lomond in Scotland. He also loves to commentate on the sport and can be regularly spotted on the microphone at such prestigious events as Wakestock UK (20,000 spectators), the Irish Nationals and the European Championships. If you are interested in seeing David in action on the water check out httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYHHJ_b1iIs
David would like to take this opportunity to thanks his sponsors, Relentless Energy Drink, O’Brien Wakeboards and O’Neill Wetsuits. Their sponsorship allows him to pursue his passion and follow his dreams.
*Wakeboarding, which is the fastest growing water sport in the world, is derived from a combination of waterskiing, snowboarding and surfing. It involves the wakeboarder being towed behind a specially designed speedboat at speeds of 20 to 25 miles per hour. The wakeboarder uses the wake of the boat to perform flips, spins and combinations of both. There are an estimated 30 million active water-skiers and wakeboarders globally.