Water skiers with ties to Innisfail and the Olds-area medalled as part of Team Canada at the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) World Waterski Championships, held August 26–31 in Recetto, Italy.
The event featured more than 180 athletes from over 30 countries, with competition across slalom, trick, jump, overall and team events.
Ryan Dodd, who was born in Olds and raised nearby in Mountain View County, won a silver medal in men’s jump.
The 40-year-old Palm Bay, Florida resident is a current world record holder and a five-time world champion. He claims Olds as his Canadian hometown.
Dodd tied for the 2025 IWWF World Waterski Championships top seed in the preliminary round with a jump of 70.5 metres (m)/231 feet (ft), securing his place in the finals.
In the finals, he followed with a jump of 70.1 m/230 ft to claim the silver medal.
He was joined on the men’s jump podium by fellow Canadian, Dorien Llewellyn, who earned the bronze medal in the event.
Llewellyn, 29, was born in Orlando, Florida and lives in Lake Worth, Florida but lays claim to Innisfail as his Canadian hometown.
That’s where his grandparents -- Water Ski and Wakeboard Canada Hall of Famers Chris and Don -- raised his father Jaret, who himself is a Water Ski and Wakeboard Canada Hall of Famer with 117 pro tour victories, 11 world records, nine world championship titles, and earned 10 Pan Am Games medals.
Llewellyn already has four medals at the Pan American Championships and is the winner of 21 Canadian national titles.
At the 2025 IWWF World Waterski Championships, Llewellyn also won gold in men’s overall to secure the world title with what his Canadian sport organization called “impressive results” across all three disciplines.
He ran 4.5 at10.75 m/39 off in slalom, scored 11,410 points in trick to make the trick final where he placed sixth, and jumped 69.9 m /229 ft. to earn the bronze medal in men’s jump.
In its update once the competition had concluded, Water Ski and Wakeboard Canada said Dodd and Llewellyn’s “performances on the water were key contributions to Team Canada’s overall performance at the championships.”
Dodd and Llewellyn, part of the six-person Canadian Team, helped Canada earn silver in the Team Overall Competition as well.
The six-person Canadian team also included:
• Jaimee Bull (North Bay, Ontario)
• Paige Pigozzi (Rini) (Clermont, Florida / Ontario)
• Charlie Ross (Winter Garden, Florida / Muskoka, Ontario)
• Neilly Ross (Winter Garden, Florida / Muskoka, Ontario)
The 2025 IWWF World Waterski Championships featured more than 180 athletes from over 30 countries, with competition across slalom, trick, jump, overall, and team events.
In addition to the team silver, other Canadian athletes captured multiple individual medals including:
• Jaimee Bull – gold in women’s slalom, her third consecutive world championship title;
• Neilly Ross – gold in women’s tricks, her second career world title; and
• Charlie Ross – silver in men’s slalom.
